Talk of the Town
by chihuahuamama
Summary: Edward dies from a tragic car accident leaving Bella who was expecting. She goes back to Phoenix and has her baby. 5 years later Forks is buzzing with the news of Bella and her son's return and Jasper and Mary Alice's divorce. AH. On HIATUS
1. Chapter 1 New Beginning

**A/N **

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

**Summary:**

The town buzzed with the news that the Chief's daughter was returning to Forks and that Mary Alice left her husband, Jasper Whitlock. Will the town's gossip, Mrs. Mallory and Mrs. Stanley, leave the two hottest scoop of the town alone? All Human

**Talk of the town**

**Chapter 1 New Beginning **

**Jasper POV**

"Jazz, the movers left. Are you ready to head to your new place? I know Rose is there, but I'm sure she'd want you there to make sure of things." Emmett, my buddy since I moved here with Mary Alice 5 years ago said to me.

"Yup." I said as I locked the door to the house, and looked at it once more to say goodbye to the house that once held the love Mary Alice and I had for each other.

"I know it's a stupid question, and you probably aren't okay, but are you okay?" Emmett asked with a worried look. It was rare to see Emmett so serious.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be. She hasn't lived with me for the past 3 years. I should have put this house on sale the minute she moved out. It was stupid of me to hold on to this house for so long. It was long overdue."

"Well, it was a great house but your new place is cool. It's a great bachelor's pad. We're gonna have so much fun there," Emmett said and pumped his fist in the air.

"Rose is gonna kill ya, if you spend too much time at my place. You're going to be a dad in a few months."

"That's why I need to spend as much time with ya now cuz pretty soon I'll have to help out with the baby diaper changing and all."

"It's a blessing in disguise, Emmett. You should feel blessed you have a wonderful wife and a kid on the way."

"Oh yeah. Sorry dude. Forgot that's one of the reasons Mary Alice and you split."

"Don't worry about it. I had years to deal with it. She was too free spirited and wasn't really the type to settle down. I should have known better. We should have stayed in New York. I shouldn't have listened to her when she said she was ready to start a family and move back here to her home town. She knew I wanted to settle down and start a family so I think she tried to do that for me, but this little town just didn't have enough to keep her interested. I wasn't enough for her either."

"She's a fool. It's her loss, dude. I can honestly say this cuz Rose gave up her modeling career and she says it's the best decision she has made in her life and she's never been happier."

"I'm happy for you guys and glad it worked well for you guys. Well, my sob story isn't the first that happened in this little sleepy town."

"Oh, you mean the Chief and his ex-wife?"

"Hey, did you hear that his daughter is returning to Forks?"

"Yeah, I heard from Mrs. Stanley. She and Mrs. Mallory are the town's gossip. I heard she's coming back with her 3 year old son."

"I can't talk bad about her. She's saved me from the town gossip twice. The year Mary Alice and I moved here was a month after that tragic accident. You know the one with the boyfriend of Chief's Swan's daughter dying in the fatal car crash? Dr. Cullen's was the boy's name? The whole school was mourning for him and the other boy who was driving the car. I think the driver's name was Tyler Crowley."

"Oh, the Cullen's boy, Edward, Edward Cullen. Yeah, I remember. Everyone talked about them for a long time. Poor Chief. He's such a quiet man, but he has so much drama around him. First, his wife leaves him and takes his daughter with him. Then the daughter returns cuz his ex-wife remarries but the daughter leaves again after her boyfriend dies to have the baby back in Phoenix near her mom. The gossip never died down for the longest time. I felt sorry for the Cullens and the Chief. It was really tragic. Edward was an awesome quarterback. Had a future in football ya know. There was going to be a wedding of the century here in Forks for the Chief's daughter and the Cullen boy."

"Emmett, why do you know so much?"

"It's more like why do you know so little, Jasper. Come on, that's all everyone's talked about. You can't swing a dead cat without hearing about the return of the Chief's daughter. It's only going to get worse. I think she's actually back now."

"Like I said, she saved me from the town gossip. She's my heroine. No one is going to care about my sob story, thanks to the Chief's daughter." I pumped my fist in the air. I had Bella Swan to thank for making my life easier.

"You should take her out for a nice dinner to thank her."

"Right. Like I would ask the chief's daughter out. How old is she anyway? 20? 21? She probably can't even legally drink yet. I don't need a man with a gun chasing after me. I value my life."

"Chill out, dude. I was only joking. You need to relax. You're too serious. Well I'm sure the gossip around the chief's daughter will die down soon now that Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley's wedding is coming up."

"For the sake of Chief Swan, I hope so. It can't be easy being the talk of the town when you're the law ya know. Although I'm sure it had its advantages. No one would mess with Chief Swan."

We arrived at my new house. It was only a two bedroom house but it was large enough for me. The movers had already loaded all the large furniture off the truck and Rose was directing them where they were going.

"Thanks, Rose," I said and gave her a hug.

"Don't mention it. It's no biggie. I wished I was able to help you pack but this, really gets in the way," she said and laughed pointing to her large stomach. "I already plugged the fridge in. You can go grocery shopping later to stock it up."

"Thanks. You're an angel," I said and kissed her on her head.

"Dude, stop flirting with my woman," Emmett said and chuckled.

"Can't help it. She's a goddess."

"Go find your own goddess."

"Like that's gonna happen."

"Hey, who knows? You might meet a damsel in distress at Thriftway. You're the superhero type. You need to find a woman who needs you. Make sure you don't find another one who's fiercely independent and controlling like Mary Alice," Rose said to me. She never liked Mary Alice and Rose was always blunt and never beat around the bush.

"I don't think there's hope in this town for me to find someone unless I want to sink as low as dating Mrs. Mallory's daughter."

"I'm going to disown you as a friend if you ever go out with Lauren," Rose scowled.

The move was quite simple. I didn't have much. The house was full of Mary Alice's things but those were all moved out as soon as the divorce went through. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon came and packed all of her belongings and took care of the movers.

"Wanna swing by for dinner? You're probably too tired to cook and I'm sure you could use some home cooked meal," Rose said and smiled.

"Thanks, Rose. That'll be awesome. I'll swing by later. What time should I get there?"

"How about seven o'clock? That should give you time to unpack a little and do some grocery shopping."

"Sounds good. See ya guys later. Thanks for helping me with the move."

"Don't mention it. We hardly did anything. See ya later, mate!" Emmett said and took off with Rosalie in his jeep.

I went back inside the house and dumped some of my clothes in the drawer and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. I wanted to feel clean before I went grocery shopping. I had thrown everything out yesterday so my fridge was empty.

As soon as I felt refreshed and clean from the shower I got into my truck and headed to Thriftway. I needed to pick up eggs, bacon, bread, milk, orange juice, water, cereal, and butter. I headed to the cereal aisle and chuckled at the sight in front of me.

"Edward, hurry up and get that box. I can't hold you up any longer," the young mother said with a little boy held up high. The young mother was petite, only a little over five feet tall with long brunette wavy hair, thin, but curvy on all the right places. The little boy was scrawny with messy bronze looking hair that looked like haystack. The boy looked like he was having the time of his life giggling when his mother was clearly in distress.

I debated whether I should just go up to them and ask her which box she needed, but the sight was so comical I just had to watch a little while longer.

"You said you wanted Lucky charms. Get that box, baby. Hurry, Mommy can't hold you any longer," she said as she wobbled on her feet. I slowly walked closer to them and the next minute I saw her knees buckle, and she slipped. I dashed and got my hands on the boy before he hit the ground but couldn't manage to rescue the mother. She plopped on the floor twisting her ankles but I saw relief in her eyes when she noticed that I had her boy.

"Ow, Ow, Ow," The mother said and rubbed her ankle. "Thank you for rescuing my boy," she said to me but clearly looked like she was in pain.

I sat down beside her with her son in my lap. "Do you think you could move? Can I check your ankle to see if it's broken?"

"I'm okay. I know it's just a sprain. I've broken enough bones to know if it's broken or not. Can you hold on to him for a minute till I catch my breath?"

"Take as long as you need. I'm Jasper Whitlock, I teach history at Forks High. I'd shake your hand but clearly you're not in the mood for introductions right now," I said and smiled at her. "Don't worry about your boy, I got him," I said to her although I struggled to hold on to him. He clearly had other ideas, and looked like he wanted to go running around inside the store.

"I'm Bella Swan and he's my son, Edward."

"Oh, you're the chief's daughter."

"Yup. THE chief's daughter, the talk of the town. That's me." she said and chuckled. "I think I'm okay now," she said and tried to get up.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Let me help you up. You don't want to fall again. The floor is a little slippery," I said and got up with her son on my hip and held out my hand to help her up. She winced as she got up.

"Thanks. Can you just put him in the cart? I have to pick up a few more things."

"You don't look like you should be on your feet. I still have to pick up some things of my own, how about I pick up your stuff and bring it back here for you?"

"Oh no, I can't do that. You've already done enough."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I actually owe you for a lot of things. This is just a way for me to thank you for them. What else do you need?"

"Huh? Have I met you before? I did something for you?"

"Well, not directly but you really helped me when I moved here and actually even right now. I'll give you the details later. How about a cup of coffee next door after we finish shopping? I'm sure your boy could use some milk and cookies too."

"Ummm. Oh, well, why not. Sure coffee sounds great. Thanks. I still need some eggs and milk."

"Sure. No problem. Your son looks like he wouldn't stay still. How about I take him around while I pick up the rest of the items?"

"Be my guest. He's a handful," Bella giggled.

I pushed the cart with Edward on it and went to the dairy section to pick up the milk. When we got to the dairy section, Edward had a funny face on him.

"Hey, what's wrong, kid?"

"Pee pee."

"You need to go pee?" I peeked from the waistband of his jeans and he was wearing training pants. He must be getting potty trained. "You wanna go potty?" I asked but he looked like he was going to cry and shook his head.

It dawned on me after looking at him. His head hung low in shame. "Oh, little guy, too late huh. Can you wait till I take you to your Mommy? I know you're uncomfortable but I can't really help you," I explained to him but realized he probably didn't understand what I said to him. Right as I was going to run back to Bella, I spotted Angela. I was glad she was working here today.

"Hey Ang, can you help me?" I yelled to her.

"Hey Jasper. Oh my, hi Edward. Strange seeing you two together. I didn't know you knew Bella. Where's Bella?"

"Bella slipped and sprained her ankle. She's waiting at the cereal aisle. I'm picking up some things she needs. This little guy just wet his training pants but doesn't seem happy he's wet. I don't know what to do. I don't think she had a diaper bag on her. It must be in her car."

"Oh, I have my son's training pants with me in the office. I'll just grab you one. They're about the same size. I'm sure his will fit. Hang on, I'll be back," she said and ran back to the office. Wait. Does that mean I have to change his training pants?

Angela ran back with a little white thing and a box in her hand. "Here you go, Jasper. Here's some nappies too," Ang said and giggled.

"Ummm. I need some help here. I don't have a clue what to do. Can you just change him for me?"

"Oh come on, Jasper. You're gonna be a Dad one day. It's good practice. Just wipe him with the nappies and put the clean training pants on. It's not nuclear science. I'll go and tell Bella, you'll be a while," she said and patted me on my back and left for the cereal aisle.

"All right, big guy. It's you and me. Let's get this thing over with," I said and sighed as I pushed the cart just outside the men's room and carried Edward inside the men's room.

I took him into the stall and closed the lid. "Edward, I'm gonna put you down on the lid, okay?" I said to Edward and he nodded.

I made him stand and took his jeans and training pants off. Thankfully his jeans were large and I didn't have to take his sneakers off. I pulled a few nappies out and wiped him and opened the training pants. Edward held on to my shoulders and put his legs through the opening and then pulled it up himself and smiled.

"Good job, Kiddo. Now can you do the same with the jeans?" I asked and he titled his head looking like he didn't understand me but as I opened the jeans for him to put his legs through, he proceeded to do the same as he did with his training pants. "All right, little guy we're done here. I rolled the dirty training pants and tossed it in the trash. I wondered if it was all right to throw dirty training pants in the trash but I really didn't care. I made Edward stand in front of me while I washed my hand so that he wouldn't just go running out the door. This simple task of changing him really drained me. "We're done here, kiddo. Let's finish shopping and get back to your Mommy."

Edward was all smiles after I got him changed. I was damn proud of myself. My simple shopping trip had turned out to be quite an adventure for me. I finished picking up all the items including the milk and eggs for Bella and headed back to the cereal isle.

When I turned the corner to go into the cereal aisle, my eyes met with Bella's worried chocolate brown eyes. "I'm so sorry, I heard from Angela you changed Edward for me. He's a real fussy kid and hates it when he wets himself. I wished you just brought him back, I feel horrible. Thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you."

"No problem, Bella. You might want to check him though. I've never changed a dirty diaper before. Thankfully he's wearing training pants so it wasn't hard but I'm not sure I've done it right." Bella pulled the waistband of Edward's jeans and took a peek.

"It's perfect. Thank you, Jasper. He looks happy too. I'm glad he didn't start wailing on you. I'm training him to go potty but when he can't make it to the potty in time it makes him feel like he made a mistake so he cries."

"Aww, poor kid. We all make mistakes at first ya know. It's no biggie," I said and messed his hair. Bella smiled and thanked me again.

I pushed the shopping cart towards checkout and Bella hobbled on her feet and followed. We paid for our items and headed towards the parking lot. "Bella, your ankle looks really swollen. You need to ice it. How about I take you guys out for coffee another time? You hurt your right ankle so I don't think you can drive. It won't be safe. How about I take you back home in my truck or I drive your car and have a friend of mine pick me up from your place? I know where the chief lives."

"I don't want to put you out. I can just call my Dad. Edwards needs to be in a baby seat."

"All right, I'll just drive your car then, Bella. Like I told you, it's not a big deal. Emmett can pick me up from your place. You live with the Chief, right?"

"Yeah, we live with Charlie. Thanks. You've done so much for us already, I really feel horrible. Let me at least make you some coffee at the house, okay?"

"Deal. Let's get going, your ankle really needs to be taken care of a.s.a.p."

Bella handed me her keys to the car and I helped her buckle Edward in his baby seat. Unfortunately Mrs. Mallory and Mrs. Stanley walked past us in the parking lot looking like they saw the next biggest scoop.

"Hello, Jasper. I didn't take you as someone so quick to move on," Mrs. Mallory said and laughed along with Mrs. Stanley.

"Thought I'd do the Chief a favor. Bella hurt herself and needed assistance. Have a great afternoon, ladies. I need to drive Bella to her house so she can ice her ankle." I said and hurried Bella into the car and took off.

Bella looked confused. "Remember I told you earlier that I owed you? Well you see when I moved into town with my wife, well now my ex-wife, it was right after you moved to Phoenix so no one paid much attention to us, and now that the divorce went through I was going to become the talk of the town but the news of you returning to Forks was much bigger so thanks to you no one really cared to gossip about me. That's what I needed to thank you for but it seems like I just added color to your news. Sorry."

Bella just shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. This is what I hate about small towns. They have nothing better to do than gossip about others, and we just ran smack into the two biggest gossips in town." she said and sighed.

When we got to the Chief's house, I helped Bella out of the car and unbuckled Edward out of his car seat. I grabbed the bags of groceries on one hand and carried Edward in my arms. I put him down once we got inside the house and followed Bella into the kitchen.

"You can just set the groceries on the table. I'll start the coffee."

"Hey, you should ice your ankle first. Coffee can wait."

"It's really not a big deal. I only sprained it. It happens all the time for me. It's part of being Bella Swan. I can ice it while I wait for the coffee to drip." I decided to not push it. Bella seemed really stubborn.

Bella grabbed a sippy cup and a really strange looking straw from the dish rack. She poured milk in the cup and placed it on the tray of Edward's highchair. She then picked Edward up and put him into his highchair.

"Sippy stow!" Edward said and giggled reaching out towards Bella. Bella frowned and placed the strange looking straw on his face like it were glasses and dipped the straw end into the sippy cup. I raised my brow and looked at Bella hoping she'd explain what that was.

"They're called sip and swirl glasses. Renee, my mom, sent it and he just loves it. She got it off the internet, some store called Wonderfully Wacky. If you like gag gifts, that store has everything." I watched Edward drink milk and the milk swirled in the glasses from the cup into his mouth.

"My buddy, Emmett, would love this straw. I should check that website out."

Bella grabbed a gel cool pad and wrapped it around her ankle. The coffee was done so she poured me a cup and sliced a cheesecake for me. She then went and sat beside Edward and fed him some of the cheesecake.

"This cheesecake is really good. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, you like it? I made it last night. I'll pack some for you to take home. Would you like to stay for dinner? We eat early cuz of Edward though."

"Thanks, but I already have plans to eat at Emmett's place. I'd love to take back some of the cheesecake though. I'm not really into sweets, but this is really good."

"Charlie has diabetes so I go easy on the sugar but he can't live without sweets so I try to make homemade desserts so that he doesn't sneak a pie into him when he's at the diner. I'm sure there are lots of recipes with artificial sugar but then I don't want to feed that to Edward you know so I use real sugar but very little of it."

"Chief is lucky to have you. How bad is his diabetes?"

"It's not too bad yet, but he's on medication to lower his blood sugar. He gets more exercise now that he runs around with Edward in the yard. Until we came back his so called exercise was fishing," Bella said and chuckled. Then I heard the door open. "Speak of the devil," Bella said and laughed.

"Is Jasper still here?" Chief asked from the foyer.

"He is. I slipped and fell in Thriftway. Jasper drove my car back here. How'd you find out already? Although I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Lauren's or Jessica's Mom." Bella shouted so that the Chief would hear her from the foyer.

"Oooh, so that's who started the gossip to circulate. I was at the diner and one of my guys who's dating Lauren came up to me and warned me that this guy here was making a move on you and driving your car," Chief said and pointed at me chuckling.

"What? So you believed the rumor and came to check up on us?" Bella scowled.

"Bells, I'm a cop. I had to investigate if there was any truth to the warning. No offense, Jasper."

"None taken, Chief. We ran into Mrs. Mallory and Mrs. Stanley in the parking lot while I was helping Edward and Bella into their car. Bella hurt her right ankle so there was no way she could drive the car safely so I volunteered to drive her back."

"Thanks, Jasper. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, Chief. I'm sure anybody would have done the same for them."

"Dad, can you drive him back to Thriftway on your way back to the station so he could pick up his truck?"

"Sure Bells."

"Chief, it's all right. I can call Emmett and have him pick me up here."

"Let me take you back to Thriftway. You took care of Bella and Edward for me. It's the least I can do. Hey, I heard you moved today."

"Yeah, it was time for me to move on."

"You did the right thing for yourself. I thought of selling this house after Renee left with Bella, but decided on keeping it since this is the house Bella grew up. I didn't want to part from it but it wasn't easy to live with the memories of them. Now she's back and Edward's here too so I'm glad I kept the house but you and Mary Alice didn't have kids so it was good to let go of the house. You can start from a clean slate."

Chief Swan was not a man of many words, so I was surprised that he shared what he went through with me. I wasn't the only one, Bella looked surprised as well.

"Are you ready to go, Jasper?"

"Just a second, Dad. I'm gonna pack the cheesecake for Jasper to take with him." Chief scowled at Bella.

"Don't worry, Dad. I'll save you another piece. It's a good thing I'm giving the rest to Jasper. You won't be tempted to eat more." Chief grunted and Bella chuckled.

"Thanks for the coffee and the cheesecake. Take care of your ankle." I said and waved at Bella and followed Chief Swan out the door.

Thankfully he let me sit up with him in the front. I wondered if he was going to make me sit in the back.

"Thanks for taking care of Bells and Edward," Chief said after he started the cruiser.

"My pleasure, Chief. I got to learn how to change a diaper and even got to enjoy some cheesecake just doing something so simple."

"What? You had to change Edward?" Chief Swan laughed. "You're a good guy, Jasper. I'm glad there's someone looking out for them," Chief Swan said and patted me on my shoulder.

I was always intimidated by Chief Swan and was glad to see a different side of him today. He really was a great father. He genuinely looked happy in his home with his daughter and grandson.

Chief dropped me off by my truck at Thriftway and thanked me again. I waved at Chief Swan and got into my truck and headed back to my place. Once I got home I realized I left the items I purchased at Thriftway at Bella's. Damn, I have to go back to Thriftway on my way back from Emmett's. With my luck I'll probably forget to stop by Thriftway again. I guess if I forget, I could live on tap water and the cheesecake Bella gave me.

It was only six o'clock but I called Emmett to see if it would be all right if I dropped by earlier and they were cool with it so I got in my truck and drove to Emmett's. As soon as Emmett let me in, I noticed he had a huge grin on his face. I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

"Dude, I heard from Rosie you made a move on the Chief's daughter."

"What? Oh God, does the whole town know already?"

"Whoa! So it's true?"

"Of course it's not true. I just drove her car back to the Chief's house. I met her at Thriftway. Bella slipped and hurt her ankle so she couldn't drive."

"That's not what I heard and I heard it straight from the source. I ran into Mrs. Stanley at the gas station. She said you looked quite cozy with them," Rose said with a smirk plastered on her face.

"You're taking her word over mine? Eeesh. What kind of friend are you guys?"

"Hey, remember? I'm the one who said you might run into a damsel in distress at the supermarket and you did. I'm so good!" Rose said and pumped her fist in the air along with Emmett.

"Anyway, let's eat. I'm starved," Emmett said and walked into their dining room.

During dinner they grilled me with a bunch of questions about what happened today at the supermarket. Emmett and Rose laughed so hard when I told them I had to change Edward's training pants. After they got tired of teasing me, we popped a movie in and right before the movie started, a car pulled into their driveway.

There was a knock on the door and Emmett went to see who it was. "Hi. I'm Bella Swan. Is Jasper here?" As soon as Rose heard her voice she went flying out the dining room to join Emmett.

"Yeah he is, come on in."

"Umm. It's okay. Can you just give this to him? It's his groceries," I heard Bella explain to Emmett.

"Come in, come in. You can stay a bit right?"

"Ummm. Yeah, I guess. My Dad's home so Edward should be okay."

Rosalie led Bella into the living room. She looked really embarrassed and her face was crimson. She looked so young and innocent. If you didn't see her with Edward, you'd never think she was a mother.

"Hi Jasper. I'm sorry I forgot to give you your groceries," Bella said and looked at her feet shyly.

"Thanks, Bella. Did you drive here?"

"Yeah. Is there a problem?" She tilted her head.

"Bella, you injured your ankle. You shouldn't be driving."

"Oh, that. The swelling's gone down. It's all good now. I'll just ice it again when I get back. See? All good," she said and lifted her jeans a little to show me her ankle.

"Have a seat Bella. What would you like to drink? Soda? Beer? Juice? Hot cocoa?"

"Do you have pepsi or coke?"

"Yup. Just sit back and relax. There's some popcorn, chips and dip on the table. Help yourself," Rose said and left for the kitchen to grab Bella's soda. Rose came back with not only a soda but a cool gel pack as well. "Here, use this on your ankle to get this guy off your back," Rose said and pointed at me. I glared at Rose.

"What? I'm sure you would have raided my kitchen and grabbed a bag of peas or whatever if I didn't bring this to her," Rose said and rolled her eyes. Bella chuckled at Rose's response. I let it go since it put a smile on Bella's face and she no longer looked as tense.

"So Bella, how's Forks treating you?"

"It's the same old, same old. People are just trying to get more details on what's up with me. You know, it would be easier if they just came up to me and asked than making their own assumptions."

"Yeah, but I'm sure with Mrs. Mallory and Mrs. Stanley, they're just gonna twist the story the way they want even if you give them firsthand info. Bad luck you and Jasper ran into both of them together. You two were already the two hottest scoop of town and then you got into the same car. I'm quite sure the gossip's gone wild and grown its own feet and walking on its own as we speak." Bella sighed at Rose's remark.

"I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like they caught you with Jasper's tongue down your throat," Emmett said and laughed. Bella turned so red her face looked like a tomato.

"Emmett!" Rose yelled and slapped him behind his head.

"Ow, Rosie. Bella knows I was just joking."

"Umm. I probably should get going. My son usually doesn't sleep through the night and he might cry if he notices that I'm not home."

"I'll trail behind you. I wanna make sure you get home safe," I said to Bella but she argued that it was still early so I should stay and that she was fine driving home alone. Rose also said it was better if I trailed behind her and we said our goodbyes and I thanked them for dinner.

Once Bella pulled into her driveway, I quickly got out of my truck and helped her out of her car. "Thanks for delivering the groceries. You could have called and I could have just swung by and picked it up."

"Ummm. I didn't have your number and the phone at your house is disconnected since you moved today."

"Oh! Do you have your phone on you?" Bella nodded and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. I took it from her and programmed my number into her phone and made a call to my phone so that I could have her number. "I hope you didn't mind that I called myself from your phone so I could have your number." Bella smiled.

"Do you have plans this weekend? Can I take you out for lunch and a movie?" Bella looked really surprised. "It's only lunch and a movie, darlin'. Unless you prefer dinner and a movie but since your son might miss you, I thought maybe lunch and movie would be better?"

"Umm. Okay. Weekend is fine. I'm sure Charlie or someone can watch Edward for me."

"I'll give you a call sometime this week okay? If you can't find a sitter, just bring Edward along. We can do a kid friendly lunch and activity instead," I said to Bella and tucked her loose strand of hair behind her ear and waved her goodbye. I wanted to hug her but I wasn't sure if she felt comfortable enough with me yet and she seemed really shy.

I watched Bella go inside the house and started my truck to head back home. I never thought today was going to be such an eventful day. This day truly turned out to be the best new beginning for me.

**A/N **

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm an Edward and Alice fan, but my best friend likes Jasper, so I thought I'd write a story on Jasper. I also think Jasper is a really cool guy and not just Alice's sidekick but I can't do much with him in my other two stories, Amor Vincit Omnia and You Complete Me, so I thought I'd write a story with Jasper as the main character.

Just a little background, in this story, Edward Cullen is dead. I'm sorry Edward fans, but he lives through Bella and Edward's son, Edward Anthony Swan. Mary Alice Brandon in this story is Jasper's ex-wife. She's a designer and owns a boutique in New York.

Rosalie Hale McCarty and Emmett McCarty are married and they are both 32 years old. Jasper Whitlock is 32 years old as well. Bella Swan is 22 years old. She became pregnant when she turned 18 years old and planned to get married to Edward Cullen as soon as they finished high school but a tragic car crash took Edward's life before the wedding happened. Bella left Forks her senior year and went back to Phoenix to live with her mother and had her baby, Edward Anthony Swan. Edward Anthony Swan is three years old now. Bella finished high school in Phoenix and is studying to become a registered nurse. She came back to Forks to help Charlie as Charlie was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. She didn't think Charlie would be able manage a healthy diet to control the diabetes on his own. She also felt it would be better to raise Edward Jr. in a small quiet town and to be near the Cullens so that they could be near their grandson since their only child were no longer with them. I kind of wanted to retain the original selfless nature of Bella Swan from the book.

Jasper Whitlock is a history teacher at Forks High. He met Mary Alice Brandon in New York where they both went to college. Mary Alice started working in a boutique there while Jasper went to grad school. After Jasper finished grad school they decided to move to Forks to start a family where Mary Alice grew up. Jasper started his position as a history teacher at Forks High as soon as they moved back to Forks almost 5 years ago. Alice started her own boutique in Forks but as soon as word got around about her boutique and her designs, buyers from New York became interested in them. Her business picked up in New York and her love for clothing became her priority. Forks and Jasper no longer held her interest and she stayed longer and longer in New York than Forks. Eventually the inevitable came and they got divorced.

Do you like this story? Would you like to read more? Please leave a review!

Amor Vincit Omnia and You complete me Fans, I'm working on the next chapter for both of them I just needed to get this started before I went back to work from February! Those stories are both at a very important chapter so I don't really want to rush through it. I promise to make it worth the wait!

Please leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2 Yo Gabba Gabba

**A/N **

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. **

I only own the plot of this story.

**Chapter 2 Yo Gabba Gabba**

**Bella POV **

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. I really didn't have time to ponder on anything, things just happened so quickly. I had been back in Forks for a few days and we had run out of groceries. Charlie had been excited to have Edward and me back home with him, and he had told way too many people about it that so many people showed up on our doorstep the next day we were back. I expected Carlisle, Esme, Angela, and Ben but never the Stanleys, Mallorys, or the Newtons. I did spend my junior year with them but were never really that close to them. I think they just wanted to drop by to see Edward, and maybe check me out to see how miserable they thought I'd look. They looked surprised to see that I was in one piece and generally happy. My first year was rough after Edward passed away, and I had a baby on the way, but I had no time to really sulk because I had a baby growing inside me, and the baby was all I had to remember Edward by.

Carlisle and Esme visited me in Phoenix several times before and after Edward was born. Edward was also the only part of their son left for them to remember him by. They were really thrilled to see that Edward also had the same hair color and style his father had. I wished Edward had green eyes like his father, but unfortunately he had chocolate brown eyes just like mine. He pouted and smiled just like his father though. I miss Edward sometimes and wished that he was still here to see his son grow up. I also felt sorry for Edward that he had never met his father.

Running into Jasper was indescribable. I had heard about him from Jessica and Lauren when they dropped by our house with their mothers. I knew all they wanted was to get info on what I had been doing since I left Forks after Edward passed away, but they also filled me on things that happened over the years since I had left. They mentioned Forks High had a new history teacher, Jasper Whitlock. They described him as tall, blonde, sexy, blue eyed Texan, with a panty wetting southern drawl. They also told me that he was the hottest bachelor in town since he was newly divorced. I never thought I'd run into Jasper so soon but when he helped me when I slipped I immediately noticed that he was Jasper Whitlock even before he introduced himself to me. Lauren and Jessica had described him down to a T.

Charlie wasn't awake yet so I changed Edward into his clothes as quiet as possible and took him down to the kitchen to start breakfast. We had gotten his favorite Lucky Charms cereal so he was happy with just that. I needed to hide the box from Charlie before he came down. Charlie was so hungry for sugar that he would probably dig his hand in the box of Lucky Charms just to taste the sugar since I limited carbs in his diet. Charlie was bored with all the whole grains in his diet. He was tired of the oatmeal, popcorn, brown rice, whole grain breads, cereal, and pasta.

I started to make a risotto with brown rice, broccoli, green beans, carrots, onion, mushroom, garlic, and tomato for breakfast for him. I added a little bit of parmesan cheese just to add extra flavor so that he wouldn't hate it too much.

"Good morning, Bells," Dad said and gave me a kiss. "How's the big guy this morning?" he said and tickled Edward.

I set the bowl of risotto in front of Charlie and a little bit for Edward too since he already had some of his Lucky Charms. "Hmmm. This is pretty good, Bells. Thanks."

"Glad you like it, Dad."

"Bells, I know I'm a pain in the ass, and probably have complained too much about the food you cook for me, but I want you to know that I'm really appreciative of all that you're doing for me."

"Don't worry, Dad. I can understand it's tough to switch from the meat, potatoes and pizza diet you were on until we came home. I'm just glad I can use the things I learned in school in regards to diabetes to cook you the kinds of food that are good for you."

"Bells, what's going on with you and Jasper?" Dad smirked and asked.

I just shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing, I think… yet."

"Yet?"

"Well, he asked me out for lunch and a movie this weekend and I don't know why I said 'yes' to him. Do you really want to be having this conversation with me Dad?"

"Erm. No. Do you need me to watch Edward then? Are you going out on Saturday or on Sunday?"

"Well I thought I'd ask you first and decide on the day based on when you can watch him."

"Either is fine. I'm not working this weekend. Maybe I can take Edward out to his first fishing experience."

"Dad, just make sure he doesn't fall into the water."

"Big guy, grandpa and you are going out fishing this weekend. Wanna go fishing, Edward?"

"Fishy?" Edward said with a funny look on his face.

"Yeah, we're gonna catch a really big fish. This big," Dad said and acted as if he was holding a really huge fish. Edward giggled happily.

"Big fishy, big fishy." Edward clapped.

"Are you working at the hospital today, Bells?"

"Yeah. Esme is going to watch Edward while I'm at the hospital with Carlisle. She's really excited to get to watch Edward on the days I work at the hospital and days I have classes."

"Are you going to be home for dinner? Esme asked us to join them for dinner tonight."

"I'm working late. I'll just eat at the diner."

"Dad, promise me that you'll eat a salad instead of baked potato or fries. You can have steak but absolutely no cherry pie!"

Dad grunted but nodded. "Well, I gotta get going. Don't stay up for me, Bells."

"Have a good one, Dad. Take care."

"Bye Bye Grandpa." Edward waved at Charlie.

"Bye Bells, Bye Edward," Charlie said and left for the station.

"Edward, it's time for us to go see Grandma Esme."

"Grandma Meme?"

"Yup, you're gonna stay with Grandma Esme while I work. You'll be a good boy for her?" Edward nodded.

"If you're good, we'll go get ice cream after I pick you up okay?"

"Ish cweem!"

"All right, let's go." I got Edward out of his highchair and carried him out the door.

I hadn't been back at the Cullen's house since Edward's funeral. I felt like my heart was being squeezed when I got out of my car and carried Edward to their front door. I felt my heart beat faster. I had to take a few calming breaths. My whole body was shaking. I never thought it would be this painful to step into the Cullen's house again. Edward no longer lived here. I suddenly missed him so much more than I ever did. I needed to be strong for my son but I couldn't stop the tears that were running down my cheeks.

"Mommy?"

"It's okay, Edward. Mommy is fine," I tried to calm Edward but he also started to sniffle and large drops of tears ran down his cheeks.

Before I was able to compose myself to ring their doorbell, Esme opened the door. Esme realized that both Edward and I were crying and hugged us both. "It's going to be all right," Esme said and led us inside the house.

"Could you watch him? I have more things in the car I need to bring for you," I said to Esme. I also needed to step out and get some air. I never thought I'd have such a hard time stepping into this house again. Esme nodded and dashed out of the house. I didn't mean to cry in front of Edward. He was a sensitive child and picked up on my emotions.

I opened the trunk and pulled out the new Froggy Friend Potty to leave at the Cullens. Edward was being potty trained and I didn't want Esme to have to deal with little things I could provide myself. Maybe as a grandmother she may have wanted to get things for her grandson but I just wanted to provide the basics and she could purchase whatever other extras she wanted.

I grabbed the diaper bag that had his sippy cup, plates, fork, spoon, training pants, nappies, and a change of clothing. I felt more composed so I headed back into the house.

Esme was on the couch with Edward on his lap. She was smiling but there was sadness in her eyes. I'm sure she was probably thinking about Edward as she watched little Edward. He looked very much like his father but had my eyes.

"Esme, here's his stuff and I bought a new Froggy Friend Potty to keep here. He loves the Froggy. I have a bad feeling that it might take a while for him to use the real toilet cuz he loves his Froggy so much,"

"Thank you, dear. The Froggy is so adorable. Little Edward is so special. He looks so much like Edward."

"He does, but unfortunately, he doesn't have Edward's eyes. I really wished he had Edward's beautiful green eyes."

"Bella, Little Edward is more special because he has your eyes. He's looks like you and he looks like Edward. I've never seen such a beautiful child."

"I think we're all just biased."

"Possibly, but I'm pretty sure everyone will agree that he's a beautiful child."

"Here, have a seat beside me, Bella. I want to talk to you about something."

I wondered what she wanted to talk about. I sat beside Esme and she reached out to hold my hand. "Bella, please just humor me and let me finish before interrupting me." I nodded to Esme. "I ran into Mrs. Mallory yesterday." I was about to interrupt her and she held up her hand to stop me from interrupting her. "She told me she and Mrs. Stanley ran into Jasper Whitlock and you with Edward at Thriftway, and that you three drove off together. I know that those two are incredibly bored old ladies with nothing better to do than spread ugly rumors so I don't believe any of what she said, but I want you to know that I consider you as my daughter even though you didn't get the chance to get married to Edward, and I want you and Little Edward to be happy. Maybe Jasper Whitlock is the one who can make you two happy. I think you should take the chance and see if there can be something special with him. I miss Edward every day, but he is no longer with us. We are still living and we all need special people in our lives. I want you to find that special someone for you. You are a mother but you're still a woman. Live a little for yourself, Bella. Go on dates, have a little fun. I'm sure Edward would want you to be loved and cherished by someone special. If you need a babysitter when you want to go out, feel free to ask me to watch over Little Edward. Carlisle and I would love to spend time with Little Edward. Don't hesitate to ask. Okay, Bella?"

"Thanks for the pep talk, Esme. I don't know what Lauren's Mom told you, but there's nothing going on between Jasper and I. You know how clumsy I am, I slipped and fell and hurt my ankle at Thriftway. He helped me drive my car home. I'm not going to lie to you though. Jasper did ask me to go out for lunch and a movie this weekend. I said yes. He seems like a nice guy and I haven't dated at all since Edward passed away so I'm really nervous, but I have to start somewhere. Thank you for encouraging me to date. I'm not really sure if this lunch and movie is a real date but maybe it's a good practice date for me."

"Is Charlie going to watch Little Edward for you?"

"Yes, he plans to take him fishing."

"Well if something happens and Charlie can't watch him, feel free to let me know so I can watch Little Edward for you."

"Thank you, Esme. I really appreciate it. I should get going before I'm late."

"All right, Bella. Take care. See you later. Will you and Charlie join us for dinner tonight?"

"Edward and I'll be joining you, but my Dad has to work."

"Well I'll see you at dinner then. Drive safely," Esme said and gave me a hug.

I hated working on Fridays. It seemed like everyone was in a hurry or had something on their mind and got injured. The hospital was always full of crying children and injured adults. The wait was long so frustrated people yelled and complained. Today was no different than any other Friday. Right as I was going on my break, I got a call from Jasper.

"Hi, Bella. It's Jasper. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"I just got on my break so your timing is perfect."

"Great. Sooo which day are you available? Saturday? Sunday?"

"Well, my Dad said he's free both Saturday and Sunday so either is fine with me."

"Hmm. Well, let's go out tomorrow and if you're not sick of me, maybe we can do something on Sunday too."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then. Should I meet you somewhere?"

"Well, I was thinking of heading out to Port Angeles so why don't I pick you up? What time is good for you?"

"My Dad is taking Edward fishing so they'd be gone from early morning. Anytime is fine with me."

"I'll come pick you up at 10:30 then."

"Okay, see you then," as soon as I hung up the phone I ran into Rosalie.

"Hey, Bella. Oh yeah. You worked here. I just got done with my ultrasound. Are you on your break? Wanna grab lunch in the cafeteria with Emmett and me?"

"Sure, I'd like that," I said to Rose and we headed to the cafeteria. Emmett was already seated at a table and smiled when he recognized that I had joined Rosalie. I grabbed a slice of pizza, salad, and a diet coke. Rose grabbed a clubhouse sandwich, bag of chips, and orange juice.

"Really? Pizza from a cafeteria?" Rose looked grossed out.

"My Dad has diabetes so the only chance I can eat pizza is when he's not around." Rose laughed.

"Good to see you, Bella. I forgot you worked here. Oh my god, that's the funniest scrubs I've ever seen. But come on, Eeyore?"

"Hey! Don't mess with Eeyore. I love Eeyore!"

"He's so pessimistic and gloomy. I love Piglet," Rosalie said.

"But you have to understand Eeyore's circumstance. His house collapses all the time, he lost his tail but Owl found it and used it as a door pull. Pooh found it and it is fixed on him with a nail now. How could he be cheery with all that? I think he's doing quite well for what he's been handed."

"Ohhh-kayyy," Emmett imitated Eeyore.

"Bella, stop defending Eeyore. He's just a frickin' character from a book," Rose said and laughed."Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night? Em bought a new grill and wants to try it out. We'd love to have you join us. Bring your son too."

"Yeah, bring your son. I wanna play with him. Show him how to grill like a man!" Emmett pumped his fist in the air and earned a slap behind his head from Rose.

"Idiot. He's too young. He's still wearing training pants. He shouldn't be near a fire," Rose glared at Emmett.

"I'm not gonna barbecue him. He's so scrawny, he won't taste good," Emmett said and feigned a pout.

"I said 'no' you're not going to teach him to barbecue. Look, you've scared Bella."

I wasn't sure if it was all right to tell her that I was going to lunch and a movie with Jasper tomorrow. I guess it was going to be okay to go to their place for dinner since Jasper and I'll be done before dinner. Maybe they'll ask Jasper too.

"Umm, he can watch but I'd rather that he doesn't get too close to the grill. Thank you for the invite. I'd love to go with Edward but are you sure he's not going to be a bother? My Dad should be able to watch him."

"We wouldn't have asked if we didn't want him, Bella. You also heard how excited Em is to see him. It would be good practice for him to be near kids since he's going to be a Dad soon."

It was nice to make new friends. Mike, Jessica, Lauren, Angela, and Ben were still in Forks but I haven't really socialized with them since I got back and I didn't really want to hang out with them except for Angela and Ben. I was sure I didn't want a St. Elmo's Fire like reunion with them. I'm sure I'll pick up where I left off with Angela and Ben soon, but since they also have a toddler and work irregular hours, it wasn't going to be easy to get together. Angela worked at Thriftway and Ben worked as a dispatcher for the Forks Police Department for all the 911 calls.

"My break is up. I need to head back. Thanks for the invite. What time should I get to your place?"

"How about five o'clock? I'm sure your boy probably needs to eat early," Rose said and I was thankful she was so considerate about Edward.

"All right. I'll see you guys at five tomorrow. Have a good one!" I said to them and hurried back to Peds.

**Jasper POV**

I loved Fridays. It was the last day of the week and it meant I had two days I didn't have to deal with these wild kids. I loved teaching history but the students all looked like they didn't care. It was hard to keep them interested. The girls paid attention to me, but not at what I was teaching. The guys simply just sat and looked spaced out most of the time.

As soon as I was done with my last class, we had no meeting today so I headed out to my truck. Right as I was about to start the engine, I got a call from Emmett.

"Wasaaaaaap, dude!"

"Em, stop shouting into my phone."

"Wanna come over tomorrow night for BBQ?"

"I don't know, I got plans till late afternoon."

"Would the fact that a certain petite brunette with a three year old boy will be at the BBQ interest you?"

"Bella and her son are coming? When did you get her number?"

"We didn't need her number. We ran into her at the hospital. Rosie had her appointment today. I'll show you the ultrasound picture."

"Em, how many times do I have to tell you that those pictures are creepy. They are endearing to you because the baby is yours. To others those ultrasound pictures are creepy. The baby looks like something out of a Sci Fi movie. Anyway, did Bella say anything else?"

"Hmmm. Rosieeeeee! Jazz wants to know if Bella said anything to us," he shouted to Rose. I heard Rose tell Emmett to pass the phone to her.

"Spill it, Jasper. What are you hiding? You wouldn't be asking if she said anything unless there was something that involved you that you wanted to know if we knew."

"Since when did you become a mind reader. Did my ex-wife's freaky skill rub off on you?"

"It's a no brainer. She was a no brainer too. You're just an open book. Your words, your actions, even your breathing give everything away."

"All right. No point in hiding anyway. I asked Bella out for lunch and a movie tomorrow. We're off to Port Angeles. What time is the BBQ?"

"I told her to swing by around five so that her son can eat early. I guess you'll be coming together with them then? I can't drink so if you guys wanna drink, I can come and pick you guys up at Bella's, and I can drive you both home if you want. Ah, but then you can't kiss her goodnight."

"Rose, mind your own business. I'll talk to Bella tonight and ask her what she wants to do in regards to the ride."

"All right. Have fun on your date tomorrow and call me to let me know if you want me to pick you guys up."

"Thanks, Rose. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Wow, so I guess I was going to spend the whole day with Bella. When Rose mentioned the word "date" I felt my heart skip a beat. It hit me that I was going on a date. I'd be the first to admit that I was rusty in this area and Bella was so much younger than I was. I realized I had no idea what to do for her. I needed to throw away my pride and ask Rose for help.

"What? Miss me already?" Rose said when I called her.

"I need your help."

"What? What's wrong, Jasper?" Rose sounded like she was about to panic.

"Oh, sorry Rose. I'm fine. I need your advice on what to do tomorrow. Should I take flowers? Should I get her something? Where should I take her to eat? What kind of movie should I take her to watch?" Rose laughed so hard at me. I felt like hanging up on her but had to swallow my pride. I really needed her help.

"Sorry, Jasper. I didn't mean to laugh. I'll help you. No need to worry anymore. First of all, forget all the things you've done for Mary Alice. Bella is a simple girl. Do not shower her with extravagant gifts. It will only freak her out. But, at the same time you need to make her feel special though. It's quite possible that the last time she dated was with her late boyfriend. Oh, I have an idea. Go to the toy store and buy a Yo Gabba Gabba plush doll and tie a few Gerbera daisies to the plush doll like it's holding a bouquet. Bella's going to love it." In the background I heard Emmett singing something about yummy in my tummy and Jumpy Jump Jump Jump Jump repetitively. "You need a crash course on Yo Gabba Gabba. Watch some Yo Gabba Gabba clips on Youtube. You'll be glad you saw it so you have something to talk about with Edward. Right now Emmett is a better friend to Edward than you are since he watches Yo Gabba Gabba all the time. You need to learn what toddlers like. For lunch, take her out for pizza. She ate the crappiest pizza today in the hospital cafeteria. She said she can't eat pizza at home cuz of the Chief's diabetes. For a movie, don't ask her what she wants to watch, she'll probably try to guess what you might like to watch instead of what she really wants to watch. Ask her if she's seen Sherlock Holmes. I think it would work for both of you. Anything else?"

"Thanks, Rose. You're a life saver. I think you've covered it. Do you want me to bring something to the BBQ from Port Angeles?"

"Oh, there's a Farmer's Market on Saturdays from 10 to 2 p.m. so grab me some baked goods. I'm sure Bella would enjoy spending time there."

"Thanks, sugar. What would I do without you?"

"I just want things to work out for you two. I have a feeling she's going to be really good for you and you for her."

"Thanks. I hope so too. See ya tomorrow!"

I decided to just head out to Port Angeles and buy the toy and scope around town. Mary Alice and I usually just went to Seattle since Port Angeles wasn't interesting enough for her. I needed to make sure I knew my way around Port Angeles. I was already feeling nervous about tomorrow. I felt like a teenager. I wondered if Bella felt the same.

When I went into the toy store I found many Yo Gabba Gabba items. They all looked liked Edward would love them except there was no way I was going to buy him the girly pink one nor the character that looked like a penis wearing a red studded condom, but I decided to buy that one for Emmett. I was sure he was going to have a kick out of it. I picked the yellow robot looking one to use to attach the Gerbera daisies as Rose suggested.

I drove around town and found a few Pizza joints. I made sure I knew where some of the cafés were also. Once I was sure I was acclimated with the town of Port Angeles again I headed back to Forks. I felt nervousness roll off my skin. People told me I was great at calming them down but I sucked at doing that for myself. I hurried back home so I could grab something strong to drink to take the edge off.

**A/N **

Did you like this chapter? I needed to lay the ground work for the upcoming chapter in this one. Please leave a review. Next chapter will be on Jasper and Bella's first date!

It would be great if you could leave me a review if you've add me on alert or on favorites for this story. I really would like to know what you liked that prompted you to add this story on alert. Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3 First Date

**A/N **

**Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

**Chapter 3 First Date**

**Jasper POV**

When I got to Bella's front door, I was surprised to hear Edward's voice. I thought Bella told me that he was going to go fishing with the Chief. I knocked on the door and heard Edward's voice. "Mommy! Mommy! Knock knock."

I heard footsteps towards the door and was shocked to see the woman who opened the door with Edward in her arms. "Hello Mr. Whitlock. Come in. Bella will be down in a minute." I was surprised to see Mrs. Cullen at Bella's house. I shouldn't be shocked since Edward is her grandson, but I just hadn't anticipated her to answer the door.

"Oh, you look surprised. Charlie got called into work, so I volunteered to look after Little Edward until you two come back." Mrs. Cullen explained to me.

"Hello, Mrs. Cullen." I said and quickly hid the Yo Gabba Gabba robot flower bouquet behind my back.

"Please just call me Esme. I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other a lot," she said and winked. Hmmm. Should I be thrilled that she seems to be welcoming me?

"Well then, please call me Jasper."

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Esme whispered and pointed towards my back. I didn't realize she had seen the robot.

"Thank you." I whispered back to her. I felt embarrassed she had seen it. It was Rose's suggestion. Did Esme really mean it? Would Bella like it too?

Bella came down the stairs shortly. She was dressed in a pair of boyfriend jeans and fitted green plaid shirt that ruffled in the front. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail. She looked wholesome and pretty. Someone you might refer to as the All -American Girl.

"We match," Bella said and chuckled.

Rose got me this blue plaid shirt for Christmas from A&F. As soon as Mary Alice left Forks I tossed out all the designer clothes she bought for me and bought a whole wardrobe of plaid shirts, plain T shirts, khakis and jeans from places she would never step foot in. You wouldn't find Mary Alice dead in a plaid shirt. Mary Alice referred to these clothes as "Fast clothes" like in "Fast food." She always said these clothes were cheap, low quality, and unhealthy. I loved fast food. I saw nothing wrong with it unless you went extreme like in "Super Size Me." Yeah that was gross. I couldn't eat fast food for a while after I saw that movie. It felt good to wear clothes I could throw in the washer instead of taking them to the cleaners.

"I hope you and Edward like this," I said and handed her the Yo Gabba Gabba robot holding the Gerbera daisies.

"Oh. Wow! How'd you know Edward loves Plex? These flowers are really beautiful too. Thank you," Bella smiled and hugged me. I hadn't anticipated her to hug me so I must have looked like a deer in headlights as I saw Esme cover her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"Plex! Plex! Plex!" Edward shouted and struggled to get out of Esme's arms.

"I'll take those for you, Bella," Esme said and before Esme got her hands on the yellow Yo Gabba Gabba robot from Bella, Edward reached out and grabbed it from Bella.

"Tsk tsk tsk. What do you say when someone gives you a pressie?" Bella asked Edward.

"Thank you berry much."

"You're berry welcome," I said and chuckled.

I held the door and waited for Bella to step out. I quickly ran to my truck and helped her into my truck.

"I'm a little nervous. I haven't gone out with a guy since Edward passed away. I sat in front of my closet for an hour trying to think what to wear. I ended up with this," she said and tugged on her shirt. "I thought of dressing up, but then that really wouldn't be me. This is the real me and I wanted you to see me the way I am. I'm not someone who dresses fancy. I never was even before I became pregnant. I rarely pay attention to what I wear because I end up with food on myself trying to feed Edward. I don't wear much makeup because Edward rubs his cheeks on me and touches my face all the time. I just thought I'd let you know that. When I talked to Angela last night she told me your ex-wife was beautiful and she always wore designer clothes so I should dress up today. I can't be like her. I just thought I'd let you know that," she said as she played with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"Bella, if you were like Mary Alice, I can guarantee you wouldn't be sitting with me in this truck right now. I wouldn't have asked you to go out with me today. I think you look fantastic. You don't need to dress fancy or wear any makeup to look beautiful because you are naturally beautiful. I don't have anything against people dressing up if that is what they prefer but I like casual clothing. I never got to wear them while I was married to Mary Alice. I hated that but I chose my battles and went with wearing what she chose for me. She designed clothing and people expected me to dress well because of her. Now that I'm divorced I finally get to wear what I want to. I don't expect you to be like Mary Alice. I don't want you to look like Mary Alice. I asked you out because I wanted to get to know you and I find you attractive."

I saw Bella blush. She looked down at her hands in her lap but I saw the corner of her lips go up. She seemed like she was smiling.

"I want to know you too. I'm sure you know more about me than I know you." Bella smiled shyly.

"Possibly. But I want to know about you from you. Not from what I heard from others."

"What have you heard about me?"

"Not much. Just the basics like you were born here but left for Phoenix with your mother after the Chief and your mother divorced. You returned your junior year to live with the Chief. You started to date Edward Cullen and found out you were pregnant and the wedding between you two were going to be the wedding of the century in Forks."

"Is that it? I guess you don't socialize much with Jessica or Lauren."

"Well, I was their history teacher their senior year so I'm not really their friend. Plus I'm much older so I'm not really in their social circle."

"What? You didn't date Jessica or Lauren?" Bella said and tried to feign a surprised look and laughed.

"Rosalie said she'd disown me if I ever stooped as low as dating Lauren."Bella laughed so hard that she had tears running down her cheeks. She looked really cute. "What do you know about me?"

"I don't know much. Jessica and Lauren told me that you started teaching history the year I left. They described to me what you looked like and that you were recently divorced. That's about it."

"Well looks like we both know the basics but I want to know what makes Bella Swan who she is. How about we ask each other some questions? I'll start. What's your favorite TV program?"

"Hmmm. I don't have much time to watch TV but when I do they are shows that Edward likes to watch. I watch shows like Yo Gabba Gabba and SpongeBob SquarePants. We watch a lot of shows from Nick Jr. and Disney channel. Sometimes I watch shows like CSI, Grey's Anatomy, House, and Bones on nights when Charlie isn't home. We only have one T.V. so I let my Dad hog the T.V. when he's home. His work is more demanding than mine. He needs to de-stress more than I do."

"Okay, my turn. Did you always want to be a history teacher?"

"I did. I was always fascinated with history. I grew up on a ranch and there wasn't much to do in the evening so I read a lot of history books. I used to imagine myself being the Generals and Lieutenants in the army. When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes took me to civil war reenactments. There's a civil war weekend a week before Thanksgiving annually in Texas."

"Really? Were you one of those people who had those civil war dioramas?"

"Yeah, I did. My Dad bought them for my birthdays and Christmas. I loved them especially when I was a kid. The ones he bought weren't very high in quality so most of them broke over the years. I always wanted to buy them again but I never got around to it."

"Hmmm. Maybe when Edward gets older, I'll get some of those for him. He's curious about everything and sticks anything up his nose right now so maybe when he gets older. " I chuckled when I imagined tanks shoved up Edward's nose.

"Okay, my turn. What do you like to do on your free time? I know you don't have much but when you do, what do you like to do?"

Bella sighed. "Like you said, I don't have much time for myself. You might laugh but right now my favorite pastime is soaking in a bubble bath and reading a book after I put Edward down."

"Well, that sounds like a nice way to relax and unwind in the end of the day. I'm glad you at least have that time to yourself."

"It's not much but it's luxury to me. What do you do on your free time?"

"I enjoy horseback riding, kayaking, camping, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, surfing and many other outdoor activities. I also enjoy hanging out with Emmett."

"Do you like sports and outdoor activities?"

"I'm really clumsy and have an awful balance. I like watching people play sports though. Oh, but I like camping."

"That's good to know. We can all go camping sometimes then. What's your favorite food?"

"Oh that's a hard question. I like a lot of things. I like junk food. I like Ho-Hos, Flamin Hot Cheetos, Krispy Kreme donuts, Sour Cream & Onion Pringles, red velvet cake, See's chocolates, Fries from McDonalds… there's just too many to choose from."

"Bella, you basically just listed snacks. Isn't there some real food you like? You know like Italian, Chinese, Japanese, French and Indian?"

"Oh, well I like fried rice, hot and sour soup, beef with broccoli, egg rolls and spring rolls, tacos, chimichanga, chili, pizzas, tandoori chicken, biryani, any kind of curry… I told you I can't choose. I like all kinds of food. I loved the Food Trucks on campus." I chuckled.

"Bella, I assume you bought all the food you just told me from the food trucks when you were taking classes didn't you?"

"The food trucks had really good food. I can cook you know. I cook really healthy food."

"I'm sure you do. I have nothing against food trucks. I bought food from the trucks all the time when I used to live in New York. I'm thinking of taking you out for pizza for lunch. Does that sound good? I'm glad that pizza was on the list of foods you mentioned."

Bella's thoughts on the foods she liked reminded me of my college days before I met Mary Alice. I really missed those days. After I met Mary Alice she didn't let me touch any of the food from the trucks. We had Chinese, Indian, and Pizzas delivered every once in a while but most of the time we ate at restaurants with renowned chefs and chic cafés.

"Yay. I was craving for a really good pizza. I can't wait," she said and rubbed her hands in excitement.

The minute we got to Port Angeles we ran into Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley.

"Hi, Mr. Whitlock. Hi, Bella," Jessica said and waved.

"Hi Jess, Hi Mike," Bella said looking a little uncomfortable.

"Good to see you two," I said to them.

"What are you guys up to today?" Jessica asked.

I glanced at Bella to see if it was okay to answer her, she seemed to understand what I wanted to know and nodded.

"We're here for lunch and movie."

"Woohoo! Bella's on a date! Where's Edward? Shouldn't you be home changing his diapers or something?" Jessica said and giggled.

"Leave them alone, Jess. She works really hard and takes good care of Edward. She deserves a day out. I'm sure you wouldn't be staying home all the time once we have kids," Mike snapped at Jessica.

I was surprised to see Mike put his foot down. He was Jessica's lapdog when he was a senior. I guess I never paid attention to them after they graduated. I didn't know there was a role reversal. I was thankful but was surprised at Mike's kindness.

"I was just kidding, Mike. It was too funny to see Bella on a date. Come on, I had to tease her a little. Have fun! We gotta get going. We're gonna be late to our appointment with the wedding coordinator." Jessica said.

"Bye, Bella. Bye, Mr. Whitlock. Have a great time!" Mike shouted while he was dragged away by Jessica.

"Well, I'm glad Mike reined Jessica in. Never knew he had it in him."

"He was always nice to me but he hated Edward. Mike had a crush on me my junior year in high school. He was really jealous of Edward. Edward sort of swept in after rescuing me from the accident."

"What accident? You were in an accident?" This was something I've never heard of from all the gossips I've heard about her.

"Yeah. Right after I came to Forks, one morning the ground was icy and Tyler Crowley's car slipped and crashed into my truck. If Edward hadn't rescued me I wouldn't be here. Mike kept visiting me until I was well enough to go back to school but at the same time things between Edward picked up and we started to date. Edward should have remembered from that accident how terrible Tyler's driving skills were. He shouldn't have gotten into Tyler's car."

"Do you miss Edward?"

"I've had five years to heal but wish he was still here so that Edward could've known his father. One of the reasons I moved back was for Edward. He needed a male role model and the closest male I knew was my Dad. My Mom's husband was a minor league baseball player so he wasn't around very much. Also almost everyone in town knew Edward so at least by living here my son can grow up in a town full of people who knew his father," Bella said with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad," I said and wrapped my arm around her waist to draw her closer to me.

"Don't worry about it. It's no longer hard for me to talk about him. Let's hurry and go to the pizza place. I'm hungry!" Bella said and chuckled.

Once we made it to the pizza place and given the menu, Bella's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Oh look, there are so many choices and everything looks really great. Can you eat a lot? Can we order a few appetizers?"

"Well, I can't eat as much as my buddy, Emmett, but I'm sure we can order pizza and a few appetizers. I'd be happy with anything as long as we order some extra hot buffalo wings."

"What kind of pizza do you like? I'm good with anything as long as there are no anchovies or olives on them."

"Should we maybe get the house special? It has a whole bunch of different toppings on them like mushroom, green peppers, onions, pepperoni, Italian sausages, provolone, parmesan, and mozzarella cheese."

"Yes!" Bella replied a little too loud from excitement. She immediately blushed and looked down at her hands.

"Hey, no need to be embarrassed. I love that enthusiasm."

"If I get too loud, please kick me underneath the table. I am always with Edward and unless I talk to him loud and clear he doesn't pay attention so sometimes I forget and don't realize how loud I am. I used to be really shy and quiet but I had to get over that once I had Edward. I sometimes miss my old 'me' at times like this."

"Bella, just relax and enjoy. I don't get embarrassed easily and my ex-wife was a ball of energy. You aren't even half as loud as she was," I said and laughed.

"I don't believe that. You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I'm not kidding. You can ask Emmett and Rosalie tonight. They'll vouch for me. Anyway, let's go back to getting to know each other. What does a typical day of Bella Swan consist of?"

"There's nothing exciting or worth talking about."

"I still want to know," I said and smiled.

"Okay then. I wake up around 5 a.m., take a shower, start breakfast, pack the things Edward needs to take to the Cullens, feed Edward and Dad, dress Edward, wash the dishes, take Edward to the Cullens, go to the hospital, pick Edward up from the Cullens after my shift, make dinner, feed Edward and Charlie, bathe Edward, put Edward down, study, take a bath, and go to bed. That's it. Really uninteresting."

"It doesn't sound uninteresting to me. I wake up, take a shower, eat cereal, go to school, teach, stop somewhere and pick up dinner, eat dinner, prepare for the next lesson, watch a little TV, and go to bed. See? Your day seems much more interesting than mine."

"Our typical day is really boring isn't it? We're pathetic," Bella said and laughed.

"Yeah, we are," I said and laughed.

"Let's see, it's my turn to ask a question. You mentioned that you pick up something for dinner on your way home. Can you cook at all?"

"I can grill a mean brisket, people say my chili is the greatest, and I can make a peach cobbler that will make your grandma cry. Other than those, I'm helpless in the kitchen."

"I'm sure if you can make all that, you can probably make anything else if you tried."

"I've tried and failed. I'm not going to attempt anymore. I don't want to burn my place down."

"You sound like my Dad. I don't let him cook anymore. He's burnt too many frying pans. We had two kitchen fires my junior year in high school. He can't even use the microwave properly. He tried to make me dinner once. He popped a chicken pot pie that came in an aluminum foil tray into the microwave instead of the oven. I'm sure you can guess what happened next." Bella said and laughed with tears running down her cheeks.

I chuckled. I didn't want to laugh too hard in case the Chief found out I laughed about him. "I read the back of the box before I buy frozen dinner. I make sure I buy ones that I can nuke."

Talking with Bella was easy and I was really enjoyed it. She was funny and she was really down to earth. I really liked that about her.

Bella laughed again and snorted a little. She was adorable and refreshing. Right now she was just a 22 year old girl on a date. I felt younger being around her. I didn't have to be Mr. Whitlock, the boring history teacher.

"My turn then. What was the funniest thing that happened to you since you came to Forks?"

"Hmmm. There's something that I find funny now, but it wasn't when it happened. I was on my way home from school and I stopped by the gas station and ran into a few mothers of students I taught. As soon as they spotted me they rushed over, hugged me, and told me if I needed someone to talk to, they were available. I didn't ask why they were acting so strange. I just smiled and thanked them. Then I went to Thriftway and ran into Lauren. She walked towards me swinging her hips trying to look sexy and hugged me. She told me if I ever felt lonely, I should call her. At that point I was still clueless and Lauren was being Lauren so I didn't really think anything of it. Then I went to the diner to pick up dinner. Everyone in there looked at me, some patted me behind my back, some hugged me, and some told me to call them if I needed to talk. Then after that I needed to pick up something at the Newton's and met Mrs. Newton there. She hugged me and told me she was there for me if I needed her. At that point I was really creeped out. I had no idea what was happening. Then after I got out of my truck in my driveway your Dad drove by in his cruiser. He looked at me and nodded. It was like the whole town knew something I wasn't privy to. In a little while Emmett swung by and while we chilled people started to show up with food. Pies, lasagna, casseroles, you name it. Emmett joked if anyone died. Then we both heard a car screech to a stop. Rose busted into my house and shouted, 'She left? She fuckin left you?' and I still didn't have a clue so I asked her what the hell she was talking about. Then I saw the horror in her eyes. She also hugged me and told me how sorry she was. Then finally I found out. Rose told me that Mary Alice left a note and left. Mary Alice flew in from New York while I was at school and packed the things she needed and was gone. Before flying straight back to New York Mary Alice stopped by her mother's and told her she left me for good. Mrs. Brandon told Mrs. Mallory and the rest was history. I finally found a note stuck on the fridge from Mary Alice that said to call her lawyer."

"OH MY GOD, that's not funny, Jasper. OH MY GOD, that's just cold," Bella looked furious and she even had tears in her eyes. It wasn't my intention to make her upset.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I didn't mean to upset you. I thought it was a funny story you know, with all the people knowing before me. It's so Forks."

"Your ex-wife should be glad she isn't in town anymore. I would have skinned her alive for treating you that way. That's just cold. No one deserves to be treated that way," she said and shook her head repetitively.

"It's all right. Rose, Em, and I joke about it now. It was something Mary Alice would do so I wasn't that surprised about the way she left for good. Mary Alice likes to do everything clean. She doesn't like getting her hands dirty. She plans ever little detail and executes. It's just that I hadn't anticipated Mary Alice to leave me at that point. She hadn't returned in a long time and just kept telling me that she was busy so I had no idea she wanted a divorce. The subject never came up. I'm usually good at picking up on people's moods and feelings but I guess my skills didn't work over the phone. To this day I wonder what I missed. I just didn't see it coming at all. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you this story."

"Stop apologizing, Jasper. I'm glad you told me. I can't see the humor in it right now because I'm so angry at your ex-wife. I hope she never comes back to town. She won't make it out of here in one piece."

"She did return a few times to visit with her parents but the first time she returned, Rose got her good. I didn't witness it but I heard about it, so did the rest of the town."

"What did Rose do to her?"

"Rose screamed at her that she had no right to be back here after what she'd done to me and then Mary Alice started to call Rose in all kinds of names but couldn't beat her with words so Mary Alice bitch slapped Rose. They got into clawing, slapping, punching, kicking and pulling their hair. Your Dad showed up on the scene but there were plenty of witnesses that said Mary Alice was the first to verbally and physically attack and that Rose was a victim. Your Dad cuffed Mary Alice and threw her in the back of his cruiser and took her to the station. Rose walked free and relatively unscathed compared to Mary Alice. Mary Alice was hurt pretty bad. I'm pretty sure she probably still has scars from the fight. Your Dad never told you this?" I was surprised that Bella didn't know about this brawl. I had thought the Chief would have told her before she came out with me today.

"Wow, good for Rose. I wish I was there and got my turn at your ex-wife. Dad never told me. He's not one to gossip."

Thankfully by this time Bella was laughing. At one point I was scared that I ruined our date with my story. We finished our food and I told her I wanted to take her to the Farmer's market next. Bella squealed in excitement.

"You're that excited to go to the Farmer's market?"

"I love, love, the Farmer's market. I haven't been back there in such a long time. My Mom and my Dad used to take me before they divorced. I have really great memories from that place. Oh, thank you, Jasper. I'm so excited. Hurry, hurry, let's go," she said and hummed. I was really glad that Rose suggested me to take Bella to the Farmer's market. I'm sure Rose probably never anticipated Bella to be this excited about it. I made a mental note to get Rose some really nice desserts.

We drove to the corner of Front and Lincoln Street where the market was and parked my truck. Once we got to the market Bella said she wanted to check out each of the booth. I wondered if we'd have time to catch a movie if we stopped at all the booth but Bella looked extremely happy so I tossed the idea of going to the movie today. Maybe if she wasn't sick of me by the end of the day, we could catch a movie tomorrow. That thought excited me. It would be a great reason to ask her out again. We stopped at several produce booths and Bella picked up some broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, corn, garlic, and potatoes along the way. She suggested we get some for Rose too. Then Bella bought some organic eggs so I got the same for Rose. We got to the booth with baked goods so I told Bella I needed to get some for Rose. We chose apple pie and lemon cream pie. I asked Bella if she needed anything, but she said she had to bake desserts herself because of the Chief's diabetes.

Then we saw a lot of craft booths next. Bella was interested in the booth that sold candles. She spotted goat milk soap and freesia aroma beads. She really liked them so I told her I wanted to buy them for her. She refused at first but after I begged her to let me buy them she finally relented. Towards the end of the booth we saw a booth selling honey. She said Edward loved honey so she bought a small jar of honey for him.

"Oh no. I'm sorry, Jasper. I didn't know how late it was. We missed half the movie."

"Don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun here. We can watch a movie another time. You'll come watch a movie with me some other time, won't you?"

"I'd like that," Bella said and blushed.

We got back to the truck and headed back to her house. When we entered her house the house smelled really great. It smelled like something with eggs and cheese.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Edward ran towards Bella and jumped into her arms as she scooped him up.

"Hi, baby. Did you have fun with Grandma Esme?" Edward nodded his head repeatedly. "That's good. I'm glad you had fun. What did you do with Grandma Esme?"

"Park." Edward said to Bella.

"Oh, you went to the park? That's nice. Did you play on the swings?" Edward nodded happily.

"Hi Kids. Did you guys have fun?" Esme asked as she came out to greet us.

"I had a lot of fun. We had pizzas and went to the farmers market. I got you some fresh produce. They looked really great." Bella said and opened the bag to show her the items she bought at the Farmers market.

"They look lovely, dear. Thank you. Have a seat kids. I just made a fresh pot of coffee," Esme said and we followed her into the kitchen.

While we sat and waited for Esme to pour us some coffee, Bella took out some of the produce and placed it into another bag for Esme.

"It really smells good in here," I said to Esme.

"Thank you, dear. I made some crustless spinach, cheese, and mushroom quiche for Charlie and another for you guys to take to the McCarty's."

"Oh no. You didn't have to do all that for us."

"It's quite all right, dear. I needed to make dinner for Carlisle and I as well so it wasn't any extra work. It helped save time for me. Now I don't have to do much when I get home."

"Thank you so much, Esme. I really appreciate it. Thank you for thinking about Charlie and his diabetes. I really appreciate it that you made it crustless."

"No problem, dear. We could all use cutting down on the carbs."

"Well, since you guys are back, I should get going. Carlisle would be home soon."

"Thank you, Esme," Bella said and walked Esme to her car.

Edward looked bored as he sat under the kitchen table. He started to play with my foot.

"Whatcha doing there, little guy?" Edward scrunched his nose and giggled.

I got down on the floor and tickled him. Edward rolled on the floor and squealed. Bella came in and saw Edward laugh and squeal while I tickled him silly.

"What are you boys doing?" Bella said and laughed. "All right, fun is over. Edward, I need to change your clothes so we can go to the McCarty's house. You want to look nice, don't you?" I don't think Edward cared how he looked. It was probably more for herself. He looked fine if anyone asked me.

"I think he looks fine, Bella. You probably wouldn't want to dress him into anything nice since we might be in the yard."

"I have some nice things my Mom bought for him right before we left. It's not dressy but it's new and I don't want to give the impression to the people in town that he dresses sloppy because of me. The Cullen kids always dressed well."

"Bella, he isn't dressed sloppy. He's dressed appropriately for a toddler. You worry too much."

"Well, he has stains on this shirt so I have to change him anyway. We'll be down in a few." Bella took Edward's hand and walked up the stairs.

Ten minutes later Bella came downstairs with Edward. I clutched my stomach and laughed when I saw what Edward was wearing. He had a little T shirt that said "Lock Up Your Daughters," and a hoodie that said "Honor thy mother." He looked too cute.

"Pose," she said to Edward. Edward spread his legs a little, crossed his arms and turned his chin up. I laughed again. I think the pose was meant to make him look tough but he was too cute.

"Rose and Em are gonna love his outfit," I said to Bella.

We headed out the door with the quiche Esme made for us and got into my truck.

* * *

**A/N**

Did you like this chapter? Please let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm trying to look up info on Port Angeles so that I could use it in the story. I'm half Japanese and I live in Tokyo so I'm thousands of miles and oceans apart from Port Angeles. LOL. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. In Washington, I've only been to Seattle so I am clueless to that area. I found the info on the Farmer's market in Port Angeles while I searched for something they could do on their date. The tidbit on the civil war weekend in Texas is also true as well. I found it on the Liendo website. It's held at the Liendo Plantation in Homestead Texas. I am totally rusty on civil war so I did a little research to reacquaint myself on the civil war. According to my little research the last battle of the civil war was fought in the southernmost tip of Texas on Palmetto Ranch. Thought I'd throw that in the story since Jasper is a history teacher and he's from Texas originally. **Please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4 Rubber Ducky

**A/N**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

I do not own "In Da Tub (Bernie & Ernie remix)" Parody of In Da Club by 50cent) either. Even though I want to properly give credit to whoever this song belongs to, I tried to find it but some said 50 Bent, some said DJ Bent. I really don't know.

**Chapter 4 Rubber Ducky**

**Jasper POV**

"Big truck," Edward said and bounced his feet when I buckled him into the backseat of my truck. He seemed really thrilled.

"Look at you. You should thank Jasper for letting you ride in his truck. It's a nice, big truck isn't it?" She said to Edward and he nodded happily. "He loves his toy truck. He likes my Dad's cruiser but not as much as trucks."

"You like trucks?" I asked Edward.

"I like truck. Truck truck truck truck…" Edward kept repeating the word "truck" till it irritated Bella. It didn't bother me but Bella shushed him.

"You're always welcome in my truck, Edward." I said to him and smiled. "Want to ride in the truck with me again?"

"Yes. Ride truck." I chuckled to see him so happy in his little child seat.

As soon as we were in the McCarty's driveway, Rose flung the door open. "Hi guys," Rose smiled and greeted us with a hug. "Oh my gosh, that is the most adorable outfit I've ever seen," Rose commented to Bella on Edward's outfit. "Where did you get it? I've never seen anything like it around here."

"My Mom bought two boxes full of clothes online for him before we left Phoenix. She loves to shop online." Bella said and laughed.

"Well, your Mom has really great taste. He's a lucky boy."

"Thanks for inviting us. We went to the farmers market today and we got some fresh produce for you, I hope you can use them," Bella said and showed the produce we got at the farmers' market to Rose. I liked the sound of Bella referring to us as "we" instead of Jasper and I. I mentally kicked myself for reacting like a love sick fool.

"Wow! Thanks, Bella. They look great," Rose said to Bella excitedly. This, I didn't understand. They were just vegetables. I didn't understand why some women got excited over something like this.

"Oh, and Edward's grandma made a quiche for you guys. I hope you guys like quiche. They're a little different. It's crustless because my Dad needs to limit carbs."

"Your mom is here?" Rose gasped. I realized Rose immediately thought of the Chief's ex-wife when Bella mentioned the word "grandma." As far as I knew, the Chief's ex-wife never returned since she left Forks. Not even once. I envied the Chief. His ex-wife didn't have family in Forks anymore so she had no reason to return.

"Oh! Not my Mom. I'm sorry. I meant Esme Cullen. Edward's father's mother."

Rose slapped her forehead. "My bad. Of course you meant Esme Cullen. It would have been a huge scandal if it were your Mom though. I would have loved to witness the two vultures go crazy over it."

"Rose!" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Sorry, Bella. I tend to say whatever that's on my mind without thinking. I shouldn't have joked about your Mom."

"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for thinking that. Two vultures? Mrs. Mallory and Mrs. Stanley or Jessica and Lauren?" Bella said and laughed.

"Oh, I forgot about their offspring." Rose said and laughed.

"Hey, I got some pies at the market as well. Look," I said and showed Rose the pies.

"Mmmm. Can't wait to have a bite of those," she said and led us into the house. Bella and Rose went to the kitchen so I took Edward's hand and led him out the backyard.

"Hey, Jazz. Hey, little guy. I love that shirt, kid," he said and squatted so that he was closer to Edward's eye level. "Man, I want this T shirt too. I wonder where Bella got it," Emmett said and I had a feeling he really meant it.

"Em, it looks great on Edward because he's a cute little guy. You are neither cute nor little."

"Oh shut it. I look good in anything."

Edward was getting too close to the grill so I scooped him up and carried him in my arms. He looked happier now that he had a better view.

"Need help with anything?" I asked Em.

"Nah. I know you are better at this than I am but I got it. The hotdogs and hamburgers are almost done. Rose thought Edward might like those better than the sausages and the brisket. There is also some mac 'n cheese, corn bread, and red beans and rice Rose made."

"Mmmm. I need to thank Rose. It's almost like Christmas dinner," I said and rubbed my stomach. I thought I ate plenty but I heard my stomach growl. Edward chuckled and pointed at my stomach.

"Edward, which do you want? Hotdog? Hamburger?" I asked, but Edward scowled at me.

"Oops, need some help here. He doesn't look happy. Your mentality is closer to a kid than mine. What did I say to tick Edward off?"

"You expect me to help you after calling me a kid? Oh well, I guess I'm a kid at heart. Maybe he wants both? I know I would."

"Edward, do you want some of the hotdog and the hamburger?" I asked and Edward nodded happily. Damn. I still had a long ways to go to understand the mind of a toddler.

"Woo hoo! I knew something that you didn't!" Emmett said and pumped his fist in the air.

"Woo hoo!" Edward said and imitated Emmett.

"Em, you might want to watch what you do today. He's only three. His mind is like a sponge."

"Oh, he's Johnny 5 then. Awesome!"

"He's who?"

"You know, Number 5. 'Need Input. Input?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? Short Circuit? The film where the Robot runs from the military? You don't remember that? Man, you must have been one seriously deprived kid. They're even making a remake right now that's coming out in 2011."

"Hey, just because I wasn't a movie buff doesn't mean I had a deprived childhood. I didn't live in the city and my Dad was really busy with the ranch. He took us out to movies whenever he could. I guess I just wasn't into robots so much. I liked 'Back to the Future' films."

"Yeah. Those movies rocked. I wanted one of those hoverboards so badly. I've been waiting, and now I'm 32 years old, but they still don't sell that stuff."

"Awww. Poor, poor, Em. Anywy, Edward's curious about everything right now and shoves anything that could fit up his nose according to Bella."

"Nice. Maybe this little guy's gonna be the new Isaac Newton. He might come up with some theory from shoving something up his nose just like Newton got the idea of universal gravity from an apple falling on his head."

"Em, you're so strange. Only you would think of Newton's law of gravity after hearing about a boy shoving things up his nose."

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

"You're quoting Albert Einstein now? Em, that's so not you."

"Tsk tsk tsk. The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits."

I shook my head and sighed. "Shut up, Em. It's getting old already. You are a far cry from Albert Einstein. The closest thing you can come to a stein is a beer stein."

"Hmmm. I like the sound of that. Emmett Beerstein. Oh, I totally forgot! Rosie and I got something nice for the little guy."

"What did you guys get?"

"Well since he was coming for dinner, we got Yo Gabba Gabba 3 section tray, matching fork and spoon, and this sippy cup like looking thing with a straw sticking out of it."

"Hey, that's not fair. You guys did more for him than I did. All I got was a little robot."

"Well Rosie thinks of everything. Edward, want to go get your present?" Emmett asked Edward. Edward reacted on the word "present," and his eyes sparkled with excitement. "Hey, can you take him to Rosie to get the plate? I need to stay with the grill. Rose hates it when I leave it unattended."

"Sure." I said and carried Edward into the kitchen. "Rose, Em said you had a present for Edward."

"Oh, I forgot. Guess what Edward, I have a present for you," Rose said and showed Edward the plate, fork and spoon, and the cup.

"Christmas!" Edward shouted and struggled to get out of my arms. I put him down and he ran to Rose. He raised his arm up to signal to her that he wanted her to pick him up. Rose scooped him up into her arms. Edward smiled longingly and snuggled into Rose's breasts.

"Sorry, Rose. He's a boob man. Unfortunately I'm not so blessed in that department. Every opportunity he gets he does that. I'm really sorry. I hope you aren't uncomfortable. I keep telling him that it's rude but he won't stop. Hopefully he'll stop when he gets older. Otherwise I fear for his future. I don't want him to turn into some kind of pervert." Bella said and frowned.

"Bella, he's a little kid. I'm sure he'll grow out of it soon. Soon he'll hit the age that he'd be embarrassed to be kissed by you in front of others. I'm fine. I rather like it that he's snuggling into me," Rose said and giggled.

"Let's hope so. Em sure hasn't grown out of it," I said and earned a slap behind my head from Rose. "Ouch. I was just joking. Here, I'll take the plate to Em," I said and got Edward's plate from the counter.

After the grilling was done we all sat down to eat. It was supposed to be just a simple barbecue but Rose cooked a lot of things and it looked like a feast. Bella forgot to bring Edward's booster seat so when she tried to sit him on her lap, I told her I'll take Edward.

"He's a messy eater. Are you sure?"

""I'll be fine."

"Just let me do this then." Bella said and hung a hand towel from the collar of my shirt. "I don't want his food to get on you," she said and did the same to Edward.

Emmett laughed. "Dude, you're wearing a bib." I scowled at Emmett.

"Did you thank Auntie Rosalie for getting you this nice plate?" Bella asked Edward.

"Thank you berry much." Edward said and waved at Rose.

I regretted offering to keep Edward on my lap. I never realized how hard it was to eat while you had a little guy on your lap. It was even harder when Emmett kept making him laugh. Edward wouldn't sit still. He kept wiggling in my lap. He was also really warm. Were little kids this warm?

"Bella? Are kids supposed to be this warm? Do you think he has a fever?"

"Really? His face looks normal. Let me see," Bella said and got out of her chair to check on Edward. "He's fine. Here, I'll take him. You're starting to sweat. Most kids have a higher temperature than adults. He's also excited today being here so his temperature could be higher than usual too."

"Must be nice to sleep with him in the winter," Emmett said and chuckled.

"Em, you're always hot and sweaty. You don't need anything to keep you warm." Rose said to Emmett.

"That's cuz I'm a HOT. Woo!"

"Woo!" Edward imitated Emmett, and shot his arm in the air. Unfortunately, he had a spoon full of beans and rice. The food splattered onto Emmett's face. I spewed my drink when I saw beans fall off and rice stick to his face. Bella shot out of her seat to go clean up the mess but Rosalie stopped her.

"Nice shot, kid," Rose said to Edward. "Bella, don't worry about it. Em is a sloppy eater anyway. He gets food on his face on his own all the time. It's nothing new," Rose said and laughed.

"I'm so sorry, Emmett. He's too excited today. I feel horrible."

"It's really not a big deal. Don't worry about it," Emmett said while he picked off the rice that was stuck on his face and stuck it in his mouth.

"Ewww. Don't eat off your face," Rose said and scowled.

"It's not like he spit it out. It was on his spoon," Em said and kept picking off the rice off his shirt and face.

"Still, that's just gross."

The food was great and conversation flowed smoothly. Bella looked like she was really enjoying herself. She looked relaxed and happy. I wasn't too worried when I brought her over, but I still had some anxiety that she might find us too old for her to have fun with. I was really glad that she seemed to fit in without any problem. She was mature and comfortable in her own skin compared to the others her age. If Bella never left Forks, she would have had history from me, her senior year in high school. I wondered if she would be here with me right now, if that were the case. Probably not.

"Hey, I just remembered. Are we going to be able to borrow the costumes?" Rose asked.

"Oh, yeah. No problem. They said I could use anything as long as we don't ruin them and return them dry cleaned," I said to Rose.

"Costumes?" Bella asked Rose.

"Hey, Bella, do you have plans for mid March already? We're all planning to spend the weekend in Port Townsend for the Victorian Festival. We're borrowing Victorian style costumes from the High School so that we can go dressed to fit the theme. Come with us!"

"That sounds really fun. I don't have plans yet, but I need to get someone to watch Edward if I'm going."

"You have to come, Bella. It was just gonna be Jazz, Rose, and me, but if you can make it then Jazz won't feel like the third wheel. We have rooms booked for the weekend so that we wouldn't have to drive home Saturday night."

"Oh. It's an overnight trip?" Bella asked and blushed.

I wondered if she was thinking about us sharing a room together. I wished Rose hadn't brought this up yet. It was only our first date today and it hadn't even ended.

"We're all planning to spend a night there. You can bring Edward along if you want to, but I think you might have more fun if Chief or the Cullens could look after Edward." Rose said to Bella.

"I'm sure I'd find someone to watch him, but I've never spent the night away from Edward. I'll probably need to do some trial runs before I really spend the night away from him." Bella looked anxious when she replied to Rosalie. I realized that Edward was her life and parting from Edward even a night was going to be a really big step for her.

"Just think about it. No pressure. Whatever feels right for you is fine with all of us," I said to Bella and squeezed her hand.

Rose brought the pies out and placed it on the table. Bella left for the kitchen to help Rose bring out the coffee. Emmett was playing with Edward at the table and the moment he tried to put Edward on his shoulders, Edward slipped and fell face flat onto the lemon cream pie splattering the topping and filling all over although most got on Emmett. Emmett froze while Edward dangled from his feet being held by Emmett.

"Emmett!" I yelled, and Emmett came back from his frozen state. He pulled Edward's face out of the pie. I expected a loud wail to start from Edward, but I heard none. All that came were Edward's squeals from delight and laughter. He happily licked his fingers and took off more cream off his face. Emmett freaked out and yelled out for Rose.

"Rosie! Rosie! Help! Bella, Help! Oh my god!" Emmett screamed.

Rose and Bella ran out of the kitchen. Bella was pale and was clearly in panic. Rose and Bella froze after they saw what was in front of them. Bella's jaw dropped and Rose looked furious.

"What the hell did you do to him? Explain?" Rose fumed. Bella had her mouth covered and looked shocked.

"Sorry, Rosie. I was playing with him and I dropped him."

"WHAT??? Did he hit his head? Is he injured?" As soon as those words fell out of Rose's mouth Bella flew towards Edward, and grabbed him from Emmett. She instantly checked him out while Edward giggled. "What exactly happened?" Rose asked.

Emmett glanced over at me for help. "I think Emmett was trying to put Edward on his shoulders but Edward slipped and fell forward into the pie. Emmett held onto his feet so he dangled into the pie. I don't think he's injured. I think his face just dipped into the pie." I explained to Rose.

"Emmett, go bathe Edward. Jasper, you clean this mess up," Rose said and glared at us. "Bella, you and I are going to just sit and relax, and enjoy the other pie while Beavis and Butthead takes care of the mess they created," Rose said, and dragged Bella into the living room.

"I can bathe Edward," Bella suggested timidly to Rose. She seemed afraid, and looked like she didn't want to anger Rose more.

"The idiot is responsible for this. He needs to learn his lesson. It's all right if Emmett bathes Edward, right?"

"Ummm, I don't mind, but are you sure?"

"I'm sure and the idiot is going to be a Dad soon. He needs to learn anyway,"

"Dude, what am I gonna do?"

"Do what Rose said. I'll clean this mess. You go to the bathroom and bathe him. You know how to take a bath right? Do the same for him," I said to Emmett while I silently thanked God that I wasn't the one to bathe Edward. I was clearly afraid of bathing someone so little.

"But… but… he's so tiny…my hand is probably bigger than his ass."

"Ass. Ass. Ass. Ass," Edward copied Emmett and I glared at Emmett.

"Shit. I didn't mean to say that."

"Em, watch your mouth. If Rose finds out …" Emmett cut me off before I finished my sentence.

"She's not gonna find out, because you're not gonna tell her. If Edward ever says that word again, we're both going to act like he heard it somewhere else. Understood?" Emmett sent daggers with his eyes at me.

"I will lie to Rose, but if Bella ever asks me, I won't lie to her."

Emmett huffed. "Fair enough. All right, little guy, let's get you cleaned up," Emmett picked Edward up and carried him upstairs."

Cleaning up the mess on the table wasn't much work since most of the pie got on Emmett. I was done in a few minutes and Rose called me to the living room to join them for desserts.

It was close to half an hour since Emmett left. "Rose, maybe I should go check on Edward. They've been gone a while," Bella said with a worried look.

"Let Jasper go." Rose threw death glares at me. I nodded and ran upstairs to escape Rose's wrath.

As soon as I was near their bedroom door, I heard laughing and singing. Emmett was bathing Edward in the master bathroom.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go Ernie,

it's your bath time,

we're gonna party '

cause it's your bath time,

we go super conny

cuz it's your bath time,

make sure to take your rubber duck

cause it's your bath time

You can find me in da tub, with my mister Bub

listen to this pretty sound it comes from my rubber duck

I'm in to sitting down I ain't used to standing up

so come, give me a hug if you're in to getting scrubbed

I opened the bathroom door to see what was going on, but immediately slammed the door shut, and ran out of the bathroom as fast as I could. My eyes! My eyes! I thought to myself. I wished I could erase what I just saw from my mind. Emmett was in the tub together with Edward playing with a rubber duck. I wondered why Emmett even owned a rubber ducky.

Rose came running up the stairs with Bella behind her. "What's going on???" Rose yelled again.

"Ummm. Nothing. They're fine," I said to Rose. Then I looked at Bella. "You don't want to go in there though, Emmett is naked with Edward in the tub. It's a scary sight." I feigned a shiver.

Bella and Rose laughed. "You two go downstairs. I'll take care of the babies," Rose said, and pushed us towards the stairs.

Bella looked like she was about to say something but Rose stopped her and pointed towards the stairs. We went down the stairs quietly not to aggravate Rose more than she already was. Once we were out of the warzone we both laughed. Bella had tears in her eyes.

"I haven't had this much fun in such a long time. I know I keep saying this, but it just gets better and better. Thank you," Bella said and surprised me with a hug. She scooted so close to me on the couch that our bodies now touched. She was so soft, warm, and smelled really sweet. I don't know what got into me, but I couldn't stop myself. I cradled her cheeks and moved my face closer to her. I looked her in her eyes and slowly moved my lips closer and our lips touched. I licked her lips with my tongue, and she tasted like sweet and spicy. It dawned on me that we both just had an apple pie. She opened her lips a little and I took that as a sign welcoming my tongue. When I slipped my tongue into her mouth she tasted even sweeter. I wrapped one of my arms around her shoulders and pulled her into me even closer. Then I heard Emmett's voice and footsteps coming down the stairs. We immediately parted. Bella blushed and looked down at her hands.

"He's good as new! I'm so glad you brought a change of clothes for him," Rose said to Bella, and tried to put Edward down, but he shook his head.

"Nooooooo!" He looked quite comfortable snuggled into Rose's breasts so he probably wanted to stay there.

Bella sighed. "I think he's getting sleepy. Jasper, would it be all right if you took us home?"

"Of course. Why don't we wait until Edward falls asleep? He looks like he's about to cry if we peel him off Rose right now."

"Is it okay, Rose?"

"No problem, Bella. I'm gonna be a Mom soon. I should get used to this."

"Thanks," Bella said and smiled.

We spoke in whispers while Rose rocked Edward to sleep. "His clothes are in the washer right now. I'm sorry I got them dirty and almost injuring Edward," Emmett apologized.

"No blood no foul."

"Thanks," Emmett said to Bella quietly.

Rose gave us thumbs up to tell us that Edward was now asleep. Bella told me that we were good to go so I carried her things while she carried Edward out the door. We said our goodbyes and drove off.

When we arrived in her driveway, the Chief's cruiser wasn't still parked yet. "I'll get your stuff. Why don't you go tuck Edward in?"

"Thanks. Just make yourself comfortable, okay?"

"Thanks. No need to rush. I'll be fine."

"Help yourself to something to drink," Bella said and carried Edward upstairs.

While I wandered around the foyer looking at the family pictures I heard soft singing from upstairs. It was faint but I recognized that it was Bella singing Brahms' Lullaby.

It felt like I was intruding in their private moment so I moved back to the living room, and turned the T.V. on. I reflected back on the things we did today. Bella kept telling me that she had a lot of fun today, and I couldn't agree with her more. We didn't do much, but the simple things we did was worth more than many of the extravagant dates I had with Mary Alice. It was extremely hard to impress Mary Alice and most of the time she had plans of her own that I just simply followed. Every little detail was planned when it came to her, but with Bella, we just went with the flow. It was refreshing and exciting. Rose and Emmett also welcomed her with open arms. I had never seen Rose warm up to someone so quickly. It felt good. Rose and Alice were never on the same page. I could easily imagine Rose and Bella as very close friends. Rose was very maternal, but extremely selective in whom she cared about. It was obvious from the way Rose acted today that Bella was now under her wings, and that she would protect her fiercely from any harm that comes her way.

I heard the Chief pull into the driveway. I got up so that I could open the door for him. My truck was parked near the driveway so I was sure he knew I was still here. It was only nine o'clock so I hoped the Chief wouldn't be upset. When I heard footsteps come towards the door I opened the door slowly so that I wouldn't surprise the Chief. I knew better than to surprise a man with a loaded gun. "Good evening, Chief," I said before I opened the door fully to alert him.

"Hey, Jasper. Did you guys have fun today?" Chief looked worn out but smiled.

"I had a great time. Have you eaten? Mrs. Cullen made some quiche for you."

"That's great. I was just going to look through the leftovers Bella kept in the freezer."

It felt a little awkward, but the Chief looked tired, so I microwaved the quiche for him, and placed the plate in front of him. "Thanks, Jasper. You're a guest so I probably shouldn't have let you do that, but I probably would've burnt it if I did it myself. Bella doesn't trust me with the microwave anymore."

"Not a problem, Chief. Thought I'd just make myself useful."

"Oh well. I'm probably going to see you here often anyway. I might as well make good use of you," Chief said and chuckled. I just smiled at him. I knew I probably looked like an idiot, but I wasn't quite sure what the appropriate reaction to his comment was. It was good to know that the Chief expected me to be around them often. It was definitely a plus.

While the Chief and I chatted about the day I had with Bella, and the pie accident, Bella came into the kitchen.

"Hi, Dad. How was your day today? Sorry you had to go into work. Do you have the day off tomorrow?"

"Sorry, Bells. I have to work tomorrow too. Did you two want to go out again tomorrow? I'm sure Billy and Jake could watch him for several hours if you needed a sitter."

"I'm sorry to hear that you have to work tomorrow, Dad. You were looking forward to taking Edward fishing. Ummm. Jasper and I haven't really talked about tomorrow yet. I'll let you know tomorrow if I need to ask Billy to watch Edward."

Chief nodded. "Well, I have an early morning tomorrow, so I'm heading upstairs. Jasper, drive home safely. I don't want to be pulled out of my bed in the middle of the night to scoop up your grey matter off the road," Chief said and laughed.

Bella gasped. "Dad! That's not funny! Be nice."

"Oh come on, Bells. Jasper knows it's a joke." I knew it was a joke but felt it was insensitive considering the fact that Bella lost Edward's to a car accident.

"Good night, Chief. I promise you won't be pulled out of your bed."

"Good night, Dad." The Chief waved at us and went up the stairs.

"Thanks for everything today. Edward and I both had a lot of fun. I haven't seen Edward that excited in a long time. I'm just hoping he's not too tired tomorrow. He's a crabby kid when he's cranky. Ummm. Do you want to do something tomorrow? I have to do some laundry and study a little in the morning but I'll be free in the afternoon."

"I'd like that. What would you like to do?"

"Well, since Dad suggested that I ask Billy to look after Edward, and I haven't seen Billy since I got back, maybe we can drop Edward off at the reservation and then we can go and catch a movie or something. Does that sound good?"

"That sounds perfect. I probably should do some laundry myself. What time should I pick you two up?"

"Can I call you in the morning? Would 10 a.m. be too early to call you? I want to ask Billy first just in case he already has plans."

"10 a.m. is fine. I'm sure I'll be up before that," I said to Bella. Bella looked really tired so I decided it was time for me to head on home. "Well, I think I should get going. I had a lot of fun today. I'll see you tomorrow," I said and gave her a hug by the door. We kissed chastely. I waved her goodbye and got into my truck. When I was about to start the engine, I received a text message.

Mrs. Mallory or Mrs. Stanley must have spoken to Mrs. Brandon. The text was from Mary Alice.

_**Is it true that you're seeing someone?**_

I had no intention to reply back to Mary Alice. It aggravated me that she was sticking her head where it no longer belonged. Who the hell did she think she was? She no longer had a place in my life. She walked out of my life on her own. I was finally getting a fresh start and I wasn't going to let her ruin it.

* * *

**A/N**

Did you like it? I hope so. Please review and let me know.

The bit about the Victorian Festival in Port Townsend is true although they have cancelled the one for 2010 due to the economy and for fear that the turnout wouldn't be as good this year. Although it's not really happening this year I'm still going to have the gang go to it in one of the future chapters.


	5. Chapter 5 Malice aka Mary Alice

**A/N **

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

William Congreve : "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," spoken by Zara in Act 3, Scene 2 from The Mourning Bride.

**Chapter 5 Malice aka Mary Alice**

**Bella POV**

Edward woke me up crying. He was hungry and he seemed to be in a bad mood. He was probably tired from all the excitement he had yesterday. I cradled him in my bed until he stopped crying and carried him downstairs to the kitchen. He climbed into his high chair and tapped his tray demanding breakfast.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast? Would you like some pancakes?" Edward nodded, but he wasn't smiling yet.

I made a deformed square pancake and gave Edward the Spongebob facial feature icing kit that Mom packed for me before I left for Forks. It came with eyes and mouth and an icing tube. I helped Edward put the Spongebob's eyes and mouth on the pancake and he drew on the pancake with the icing tube. He looked less crabbier than he did earlier, but he still wasn't his happy self yet.

I brushed his teeth and changed him out of his pajamas. I hadn't gotten around to doing laundry so I grabbed another one of the T shirts Mom had bought for Edward. I didn't pay attention to what it said on it, I just picked out a blue long sleeved T shirt. I got dressed after I was finished with Edward and decided to drive around town with Edward in hopes that he'd feel better if he had some fresh air. I decided not to call Billy to ask him to babysit Edward today. When Edward was in a crabby mood, he wouldn't cooperate with anyone but me. I felt a little bummed that I might have to cancel seeing Jasper today unless he wouldn't mind having Edward with us today.

I drove into town and when I was close to the McCarty's house, I noticed Emmett and Jasper leaning by the door of the house. Emmett was dressed in a black running suit with a baseball cap turned backwards on his head and his arms were crossed in front of his chest. Jasper had a knit beanie on his head. I chuckled when I realized that they looked a lot like Jay and Silent Bob. Emmett noticed my car and bumped his shoulder onto Jasper. He pointed his chin towards my direction to signal to Jasper to look my way.

Jasper noticed me immediately and waved at me smiling. They came rushing towards my car so I slowed down and stopped in front of the house. Emmett signaled me to pull into their driveway. Once I pulled into the driveway, I lowered my window and Jasper leaned in.

"Hi, Bella. You guys are up early today. What's up?"

"Good morning, Jasper. Edward's been grumpy since this morning so I thought maybe some fresh air might make him feel better so we came out for a drive."

While I chatted to Jasper, Emmett tapped on the window beside Edward and signaled me to unlock the door. Once the door was unlocked Emmett climbed into the back seat and started to unbuckle Edward out of his child seat.

"What are you doing?" I asked Emmett after I saw him pull Edward out of his seat and proceeded to carry him outside the car.

"You thought I'd let you two drive away without coming into the house? Are you nuts, Bella? Rosie would kill me if I let you two just drive off," Emmett said and shouted towards the house calling for Rosalie. "Rosie, Rosie, Bella and Edward are here."

"Emmett, it's too early. I don't want to bother Rosalie."

"Don't worry, Bella. Rose has been up since crack of dawn. She has lower back pains and doesn't really sleep through the night. She takes little naps during the day. She would be happy to see you two."

Rose must have heard Emmett. She came rushing out of the door smiling. "Hi, Bella. Hi, Edward. How are you two today?" She asked and Edward stretched his body towards Rose with his arms out begging for her to hold him instead of Emmett. "Aww, look at you. You have a cute T shirt on again. Emmett, look, it says 'I'm a boob magnet' I bet you want one of these too," she said and laughed.

"Damn, you Bella. Why does Edward have all these cool T shirts. Can you call your Mom and ask her if she can find them in real men's sizes?" Emmett said looking serious.

"Are you serious? Do you really want one?"

"Bella, do I look like I'm joking?"

"Em, I just told you yesterday, these things look good on Edward cuz he's still a kid. You'll look ridiculous in them." Jasper said and shook his head. Jasper opened the door of my car and pulled me out. "Em and I'm gonna go for a run. Why don't you visit with Rose a bit and then just go directly to my house and make yourself comfortable. There's juice and milk and what not in the fridge. I'll head straight home after the run. I wouldn't object to some home cooked breakfast," Jasper said and handed me a set of keys smiling.

"Great idea, let's go, Bella." Rose said and pulled my arm towards the door to her house. The guys left for a run before I could object. Rose carried Edward into the kitchen dragging me behind her. "So, what are you guys planning to do today?"

"Ummm, actually, I have no idea. This drive wasn't even planned either. I was supposed to call Jasper in the morning and I didn't get to talk to him about it either before he took off. I guess we'll decide on what to do after he gets back to his place."

"I'm sure Jasper will figure something out. Are you hungry, Edward?" Rose asked.

"I ate Spongebob," Edward answered Rose.

"What did you eat?" Rose looked confused.

"I made pancakes and I had a kit to decorate it to look like Spongebob."

"Oh neat! Lucky you." Rose said and kissed Edward's forehead. Edward looked happy now that he was in Rose's arms and he snuggled his face into Rose's breasts. He was such a boob man, it was embarrassing.

Rose made hot chocolate with marshmallows for Edward, and gave me a cup of coffee. She pointed to the dining room chair for me to sit and she sat down beside me with Edward clinging on to her. We chatted for about half an hour over nothing and I left her house to head to Jasper's.

I drove into Jasper's driveway and saw a bright yellow Porsche parked across the street. I wondered who the car belonged to. There was a petite woman sitting in the driver's seat and she seemed like she was looking at me. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she looked away. She had short dark hair and wore sunglasses. It was cloudy and looked like it was about to rain soon so I wondered why she was wearing sunglasses.

I grabbed Edward's things, took Edward's hand, and walked into Jasper's home. I went to the kitchen and looked into Jasper's fridge to see what he had. I found some milk. I checked the expiration date on the carton and smelled it before I poured it into Edward's sippy cup just in case it was bad even though the date was still good. Edward having a sour tummy was something I absolutely wanted to avoid.

I settled Edward in front of the TV, and thankfully Spongebob was playing on Nick Jr. I handed him the cup of milk. I went back to the kitchen and looked in the fridge to see what I could make for breakfast for Jasper. I found some eggs, chorizo sausages, cheddar cheese, and tortillas. On the counter I found some tomatoes, potatoes and onions. I decided to make cheese and chorizo omelet wrap with breakfast potatoes for Jasper.

After I finished cutting the tomatoes, onions, potatoes, chorizo, and shredded the cheese, Jasper walked into the house. He had a great smile on his face and looked refreshed from the run. He walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around my waist. He smelled of a mixture of trees, leaves, and Jasper. "What are you making for me?" He said and his face was so close to my face that I felt myself blush.

"I'm going to make you cheese and chorizo omelet wrap and breakfast potatoes," I said and smiled. I'm not sure why but having Jasper so close to me I felt shy and couldn't look at him.

"Mmmm. I can't wait. I'll just go and quickly grab a shower. Will you guys be all right?"

"Sure, take your time. I'll have your breakfast ready in maybe fifteen minutes. I'll put it in the oven to keep it warm for you so don't worry, your breakfast won't go cold."

"Thanks. I'll see you in a few," Jasper said and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear and left for his bedroom.

I warmed the tortillas, and after I finished making the omelet and the breakfast potatoes, I glanced into the living room to check on Edward. I couldn't find him anywhere in the living room.

"Edward? Edward?" I called out to him. I walked down the hall and kept calling out to Edward. I ran back to the front door in fear that maybe Edward got out, but the door was locked and bolted. I shouted, "Edward!" while I walked down the hall.

"He's here, don't worry," I heard Jasper shout and I could hear Edward's laugh. I walked towards Jasper's bedroom and noticed that his bedroom door was half open. I stood outside the door so that I wouldn't invade his privacy. Few minutes later, Jasper came out of the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his hips carrying Edward bundled in a bath towel in his arms.

"What happened?" I couldn't understand why Edward was naked and bundled in a towel.

**Jasper POV**

While I washed my hair, I suddenly felt an arm wrap around my leg. I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair quickly and looked down. I laughed at the sight in front of me.

"Edward, did your mommy tell you that you needed to take a shower?" I asked and laughed at him. I wondered if Bella even knew that he was here.

Then I heard Bella's frantic voice looking for Edward. "He's here, don't worry," I shouted to her.

Edward was wet and he had shampoo suds on him that probably got on him while I rinsed my hair off. I picked him up and brought him closer to the shower to rinse his body off. Edward seemed to like what I did and giggled happily. After I turned the shower off, I wrapped a towel around my hips and bundled Edward in another bath towel and carried him out the bathroom. After I got out of the bathroom I spotted Bella standing outside my bedroom door.

"What happened?" Bella asked looking shocked.

"I'm not quite sure myself, but I found Edward in the shower with me. It would have been nice if it was you instead of him darlin," I said and teased.

Bella blushed crimson and took Edward from my arms. "I'm so sorry he bothered you. I was in the kitchen and was too late to realize he wasn't in the living room anymore."

"No worries, Bella. I'll just go and look for his clothes, hang on," I said and went back into the bedroom. I found his shoes outside the bathroom door and the rest of his clothes were scattered around the bathroom floor. One of his socks was in the sink. I was glad that the sink was dry. He must have tossed it when he took them off. "Here you go," I said and handed Edward's clothes and shoes to her. "I need to shave so I'll see you guys in a few minutes, okay?" I said and smiled at Bella.

"Take your time. I feel like a horrible mother. Emmett bathed him yesterday, and today you ended up with Edward in the shower. Maybe it is Edward's indirect way to tell me that I'm not bathing him enough," Bella said and laughed, but her eyes weren't on me and she was still red as a tomato.

I went back into the bathroom and when I saw the reflection of myself in the mirror, I understood why Bella was blushing. I was naked except for the towel around my hips. I just wanted to hand Edward to Bella as soon as possible after hearing her frantic voice that I hadn't really thought of my state of undress. After I finished shaving I quickly got dressed and headed out towards the kitchen.

As soon as I stepped out of my bedroom, I was welcomed by a wonderful aroma of the mouth watering breakfast Bella cooked. I haven't had anything to eat yet so my stomach growled right as I walked past Edward.

"Funny tummy," Edward pointed at my stomach and laughed.

"Do you want to hear it again?" I asked Edward and he nodded. I picked him up on his side and he pressed his ear to my stomach. Luck was on my side and my stomach growled again and Edward giggled.

"What are you boys giggling about?" Bella asked and smiled.

"Edward seems to like listening to my stomach growl," I replied and Bella laughed.

"Thanks so much, Jasper. Edward finally looks like he's in a better mood."

"I aim to please," I said and smiled. "Anyway, what would you like to do today? We could go to Sequim instead of Port Angeles. It's only like half an hour East of Port Angeles. We'll probably be able to escape the eyes of the people from town than going to Port Angeles. We could have Dungeness crab for dinner. What do you think? They have the best weather in all of Pacific Northwest because the Olympic mountain range blocks the rain. Sequim averages around 15 inches of rain per year. That's about the same amount of rain Los Angeles gets in a year."

"That plan sounds awesome. Wow, I had no idea there was somewhere so close to Forks I could escape the rain. I wish I knew about it when I was here in high school. I probably would have enjoyed living in Forks if I knew. Dad isn't the type to venture out of Forks so he never mentioned it. I really missed out."

"It's never too late. I'm glad I get to show you," I quickly finished the breakfast and thanked her for the lovely breakfast. "All right, let's head out. Em wanted to know if he and Rose could join us for dinner. Would it be all right?"

"That would be fun. I know Edward would love to see Rose," Bella said and giggled.

"What's that giggle for?"

"I just remembered how happy Edward looked snuggling into Rosalie's breasts," Bella said and laughed.

We got into my truck and I passed my phone to Bella. "Could you text Em for me and tell him to meet us for dinner at The 3 Crabs in Sequim?"

"The restaurant is called The 3 Crabs and they serve Dungeness crabs?" Bella asked and chuckled.

"Yup and they are located on Three Crabs Road too," I said and laughed.

"Here, I finished texting Emmett," she said and reached her arm out to give the phone back to me.

"Could you hang on to it? I can't text him back while driving anyway so I'm gonna have to ask you to check his reply," I said to Bella. Bella smiled and nodded.

Once we were past Port Angeles I heard the sound from my phone that a new text message came in. "Bella, could you check what it says for me?"

"Sure," Bella said and checked my phone. I looked across to her and saw that she was biting her lips.

"Is something wrong? What did Em say? Is he complaining that he doesn't want to drive out to Sequim?"

"Ummm. I'm sorry. I should've checked the sender before I read it. It wasn't from Emmett," Bella said with a frown on her face.

"Don't worry about it. Who was it? What does it say?"

"Ummm. Ummm…"

"Bella what's wrong?" I asked but she wouldn't answer so I pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car. When I looked at her, she had tears in her eyes. "Bella darling, what's wrong?"

"Does she drive a yellow Porsche?" Bella sniffled with tears running down her cheeks.

At first I didn't understand what she was talking about. Instead of telling me what was wrong, she asked me something about a yellow Porsche. Then it hit me. The only person I knew who drove such an obnoxious colored Porsche was Mary Alice. The text message must've been from Mary Alice and not Emmett. Crap! I should've foreseen this after ignoring her message last night. My ignorance hurt Bella, but I was more surprised that she knew Mary Alice drove a yellow Porsche.

"Bella, why do you know that Mary Alice drives a yellow Porsche?"

"There was a yellow Porsche parked across the street from your house when I arrived at your place this morning. In the text she just sent to you she asked if I was your flavor of the month and that I must've been an easy lay since I'm so young and I already have a child," she said and sniffled.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Are you still together with your ex-wife?" Bella asked and more tears ran down her cheeks. I leaned in closer to her and wiped the tears off her face and pulled her closer to me.

"Bella, I don't want to have anything to do with her. Last night, as I was leaving your house, I received a text from her asking if I was really seeing someone. I chose to ignore it because she is no longer a part of my life. I think because I ignored her, she's being spiteful. I also had no idea she was in Forks. She's jealous Bella, because I'm happy and I moved on. She probably expected me to pine over her and beg her to come back. She wrote such a hurtful message because one of the reasons we split was because I wanted a family. In her eyes, she sees you, Edward, and me as a family. It's probably driving her crazy."

"I'm sorry I doubted you. Her words really upset me. Are you just going to ignore her message again? What are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to contact my lawyer right now and ask him to warn Mary Alice to stop harassing me."

"You don't have to spend money over this. I over reacted. I'm sorry," Bella said and chewed on her lips.

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry about. It's me who has to apologize to you. I'm sorry, Bella for making you upset. I want to put a stop to this immediately. Give me a second so that I can contact my lawyer."

"You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault. She should have thought harder before she left you. Her loss. My gain," Bella said and finally smiled but it seemed a little forced.

"Just give me a second," I said and rang my lawyer, Jason Jenks.

"Hello, Jason."

"Hello, Jasper. What can I do for you? Didn't think I'd hear from you so soon," Jenks said to me.

"I wasn't planning on needing your help so soon either. Mary Alice started to harass me since yesterday. I started dating someone," I said and looked at Bella not knowing for sure if we were on the same page. Then I saw Bella smile and nod in acknowledgement. "Her name is Isabella Swan."

"Why does the name, Swan, seem so familiar?"

"Her father was the arresting officer when Mary Alice got in a ruckus with Rosalie. Her father is the Chief of Police of Forks."

"Ah, now I remember. How is Mary Alice harassing you two?"

"Well at the moment, it's just two text messages but the second one is definitely defamation of Bella's character and I won't forgive Mary Alice for it. The first text, she wanted to know if I was really seeing someone. I'll just forward the text messages to you. Bella saw Mary Alice's Porsche parked across the street from my new place this morning. She didn't know it was her car until she asked me if Mary Alice drove a yellow Porsche after she saw this second text message from Mary Alice. Can you send her a warning letter to stop meddling in my business?"

"Well, I'm not sure if slapping her with just a warning letter is going to be enough. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Jasper. Better be safe than sorry. Alert Chief Swan. Let him know what's going on. Show him the texts and tell him that his daughter spotted her car across the street from your place. If either of you see her or her car near your houses, take a picture."

"All right, I'll discuss with Bella if she would want to involve her father or not and let you know later. Thanks, Jason."

"No problem, Jasper. I'm sorry she's meddling with your business still. Talk to you soon."

I said good bye to Jenks and hung up the phone. Bella looked worried and chewed on her lips. "What do you need to talk to my Dad about?"

"My lawyer thinks it's better to notify the Chief what is going on and show him the texts from Mary Alice. He also said to take a picture of Mary Alice or Mary Alice's car if it's near yours or my house."

"Do**you** think we should talk to my Dad?"

"Mary Alice is not a violent person, but I don't want to risk anything happening to you or Edward so I would feel better if I could speak to the Chief about it."

"Well, if we tell my Dad, he'll proceed with it legally the minute we tell him, but if we don't tell him and he finds out about it later if the situation gets worse and we really need help, then he'll be angry at us for not telling him when it first started. Well, angry at you more than me. I don't know… I just don't want it to blow out of proportion and meddle with your business more than it already has."

"Don't worry about me, Bella. It's my business and I'm sorry you got involved. I'll talk to the Chief if I see him tonight or I'll go to the station during my lunch break tomorrow."

"I'd like to be there with you, when you talk to my Dad. Would that be okay?"

"Sure. Maybe we can call him later tonight and see if he'll be back tonight or if not, we can talk to him tomorrow together. Right as I was about to start my car again, my phone rang notifying me that a text message arrived. Bella and I both froze. After I took a deep breath I checked my phone and was instantly relieved when the message was from Emmett.

"It's Emmett," I said and Bella sighed in relief.

When I read what the text said, my brows furrowed. The message said:

_Stinkfromhelle from Never-Wanna-See-Your-Face-Ever-Again-Land showed up on our doorstep. She wanted to know if you were really seeing the Chief's daughter. Rose threatened to call the Chief and chased her away. Got the message about 3 Crabs. Awesome! We'll call you when we're in Sequim. _

I quickly forwarded this message to Jenks and passed my phone to Bella to let her see the text from Emmett. Bella scrunched up her nose and huffed. I rubbed my thumb across her left cheek and kissed her right cheek.

"Let's go. Let's don't let her ruin our day," she said and there was determination in her voice. "So, where are we going first?"

"I was thinking of taking you to the Lavender farm. Sequim is also called the 'Lavender capitol of North America' and rivaled only by France."

"You know so much. It's like I have my own MS Encarta with me."

"Well lucky you have me cuz MS closed the Encarta site on Dec. 31st, 2009. They couldn't really compete with online encyclopedias like Wiki anymore. I better shut up before you feel like you are back in high school being taught geography and history," I said and laughed.

"Don't say that. I'm actually really enjoying these conversations with you. You know so much, it's fascinating."

"Thanks, I'm glad to hear that you don't see me as the boring old history teacher."

"I don't think you're old. If you're old, then my Dad is a living fossil. A frilled shark," Bella said and laughed.

"Silly, Bella. If the Chief heard you comparing him to that freaky creature he wouldn't be too happy. Did you see the news on the frilled shark few years ago? They thought frilled sharks were extinct until a live one was caught in Shizuoka, Japan in 2007."

"That thing was really creepy. It looked more like a giant eel than a shark," she said as I pulled into the car park.

"Here, we are." I said and pulled into Oliver's Lavender Farm. There are over 40 lavender farms in Sequim but when I searched on the internet this place claimed that it was the largest in Sequim and had a gift shop on location. "It's not U pick season right now but we can see the farm and go to the gift shop. This place is open all year round except for the last two weeks of December when many of the other farms are closed this time of the year." I said and got out of the car to unbuckle Edward out of his child seat.

We walked into the store and I saw Bella's eyes twinkle. "You said you enjoyed relaxing in the tub after you put Edward down for the night, so I thought you might like their bath products," I said and smiled.

"I can't believe you even remembered. Thanks!" Bella said and bumped her shoulder into me playfully.

Bella picked up a bar of lavender soap, lavender milk bath, bubble bath, bath salt, and body lotion. When she went to pay for the items, I quickly handed my credit card out and had them run my card before Bella had time to pull her wallet out.

Right as she was about to protest, Edward went running out the door so instead of arguing with me she ran out the door to catch Edward. As I stepped out of the store, carrying the items, I saw Bella walking back towards the store with a teary Edward in her arms.

"What happened?" I asked Bella. Edward had muddy tear streaks on his face, and his jeans and shoes had dirt all over them.

"He ran too fast and tumbled. I need to clean him up. Can we go back to the car?"

"Of course. Is he hurt?"

"He's fine. Only his ego is bruised. I think he thought he could get away from me without getting caught, but instead of me catching him, he fell on his own."

Bella sat Edward in the passenger seat and squatted outside the car. She cleaned his hands and his face. His jeans and sneakers were also a little muddy so she changed both of them. I was surprised that she even had an extra pair of sneakers in the bag.

"You carry an extra pair of shoes all the time?"

"I started carrying an extra pair of sneakers ever since I came back to Forks. He seems to always fall in a puddle. It's not easy to find a place to buy another pair of shoes. He's also a bit high maintenance. He hates it when he gets dirty. I think it's a Cullen trait. Swans are far from high maintenance," she said and laughed.

Once we were all settled back in my truck, I told them that I was taking them to Olympic Game Farm next.

"What's an Olympic Game Farm? Is it like a chicken farm? Where we can buy fresh eggs or something?" Bella asked looking confused.

"Oh not that kind of farm. This place is similar to a zoo or a safari park. In the beginning it was just a place that held the animals that Disney used for their films and wasn't open to public until 1972. Now the animals are retired actors, rescues, overflow from other facilities, and their offspring and no longer used in films. There are tigers, zebras, bears, elks, llamas, mountain lions, puma, cougars, and many more."

"Wow. That's awesome! Edward is going to love it. He used to love the PHX Zoo. I think he really missed it since we came to Forks. Thanks, Jasper," Bella said and hugged me.

"Edward, did you hear that? We're going to go see animals. Like the animals in a zoo!"

"Zoo?" Edward asked and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Yes. Zoo. You can see bears, tigers, and mountain lions."

"We get to drive through in our own vehicle and feed bread to the animals. We can buy the loaves there. Some of the animals there are in their geriatric years so they are going to look inactive, tired, and maybe even sick. Just be warned, okay. If I see something like that, I'll make sure to drive away quickly so that Edward won't have to witness it," I said to Bella and she nodded understandingly.

Once we got to the Olympic Game Farm, Bella moved to the back seat so that she could help Edward feed the animals that would come up to our car. The first were the deer and the yaks that came to our car. Edward squealed in delight to see them so up close to him. He was scared at first but started to relax once he realized that they weren't going to eat him. The animals were gentle and all really used to humans.

When the buffalos and the bison stuck their head into the car, Edward freaked out seeing how large their heads were, but started to laugh when they slobbered into the car. Edward looked like he was having a lot of fun, but I was more interested watching Bella. She looked just as excited as Edward feeding the animals. She looked like a little kid while she fed and petted the animals. Instead of feeding the animals, I concentrated on taking pictures of Edward and Bella.

After we finished our feeding tour at the Olympic Game Farm, we went to grab a bite to eat. We found a little cottage like restaurant called the Oak Table Café that was open for breakfast and lunch.

Edward was busy playing with the stuffed animals I got him at the gift shop at the Olympic Game Farm so he wasn't answering Bella when she asked him what he wanted to eat.

"We'll have the turkey and avocado sandwich and the BBQ chicken with waffle fries. Latte for me and milk for Edward. Do you think you can help us finish the food?"

"Sure. Not a problem. I think I'm going to have the Apple pancake. It says they are famous for it, so I think I'm going to give it a shot."

"The Apple pancakes sounds like it's going to be really huge. I have a feeling Edward and I might have to help you eat it instead of you helping us eat ours," Bella said and laughed.

Just as Bella had predicted, the Apple pancake was huge. So we decided to take out the turkey sandwich and concentrate on eating the BBQ chicken and the apple pancake. We originally planned on getting a small bite so that we could be hungry for dinner but we were stuffed by the time we finished our late lunch.

"I'm so full! Ugh. What should we do until we meet up with Emmett and Rose?" Bella said after we made it back to my truck.

"Do you know where they make the working girl wine that you have on your kitchen counter? After I saw that wine at your house, I looked up where they were made and found out that they were made right here in Clallam County. How about we go and check out the winery?" The winery was actually right between Sequim and Port Angeles but it was only a short drive so I didn't mind driving out of Sequim.

"They make the working girl wines there? I had no idea they made wine so close to Forks. Their labels are just so cute. That was why I purchased it. Let's go, let's go. Do you know if they have a gift shop there?"

"They do, I checked."

"Awesome! Would you please hold on to Edward though, I don't want him to break anything there."

I chuckled seeing how excited Bella looked. Right when I was about to start my truck, I looked in the back seat and saw that Edward was fast asleep.

"Looks like Edward won't be much of a problem. He's napping. I'll just carry him while you look."

"Are you sure? He's kind of heavy when he's sleeping."

"Bella, I'm not that wimpy. I'm not big like Emmett, but I'm sure I can handle Edward without any problem," I said and chuckled.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that you were wimpy. I just wanted to warn you that he's going to feel a lot heavier when he's asleep than when he's awake. He's going to feel like dead weight."

When we pulled into the parking lot, I got a call from Emmett. I told him that we were at the Olympic Cellars Winery just outside Sequim. Since Rose was pregnant and couldn't drink, he told us to call him when we were done shopping. He said they'll drive around Sequim and look at some shops and meet up with us at The 3 Crabs later.

Bella draped a towel over my chest to avoid Edward's drool as we walked into the gift shop. While we walked looked at the items in the gift shop, I decided to ask if she wanted to see me again this coming weekend.

"Bella, would you like to go out with me sometimes during the week or this weekend?"

"I'd love to but umm Edward's birthday is coming up this weekend. I need to do something special for him. Would you like to do something with us on his birthday?"

"I'd love to, Bella. It would be an honor. I'm sure Rose and Emmett would love to join too. Wouldn't your Dad and the Cullens want to be there too though?"

"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't mind having more than one party," Bella said and giggled.

"Well count me in on all the parties then," I said and squeezed her hand and held onto it without letting it go. Her hand was so delicate, small, and incredibly soft.

* * *

**A/N **

I hope you liked the chapter. I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner. I went back to work full time since Feb. 1st so I'm still trying to adjust to my new schedule and have been too tired to write. Please bear with me, I'll try to update regularly soon! Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter! Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6 Screeching Banshee

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

**Chapter 6 The Screeching Banshee **

**Bella POV**

This week seemed to drag on. I had a day off today and since Dad worked last weekend he was off fishing with Billy. He wanted to take Edward with him, but since it was raining a little Dad didn't think Edward was going to be happy in the rain, so he left without taking Edward.

Jasper said he only had classes in the morning today so he could drop by in the afternoon. We planned on going to the Golden Gate for some Chinese food.

Edward sat happily in Dad's recliner and watched Go, Diego, Go! so I spent most of my morning in and out of the laundry room. While I unloaded the dryer, I heard the door slam shut. I had taught him not to play with the door, so I was upset at what he had done. I ran out of the laundry room carrying the basket of clothes fresh out of the dryer. I planned to fold them in the living room.

I froze and dropped the basket of clothes when I saw who stood in front of the door carrying Edward. I felt all the air leave my lungs and felt like I couldn't breathe anymore.

"Your Mommy is kind of uncoordinated, isn't she?" she said and laughed while she pointed at me. Edward happily ate a donut in her arms. She must have tricked him with the donuts to be let into the house. In one of her arms she had a bag of stuffed animals, chocolates, and candies. I thought I had taught Edward not to take things from strangers.

I moved towards her slowly. I was worried she might harm Edward. "I'd like to have my son back," I said to her.

"Why? He looks happy. Aren't you happy? You want some chocolates?" She asked Edward, and he nodded happily. "See? He likes me. What's your problem?"

I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't want to make her angry in fear that she might harm Edward. Jasper told me that she wasn't a violent person, but she had to be unstable to have the nerve to come to my house. Normal, stable people don't show up at the house of the woman the ex-husband was dating unless there was a specific agenda right? "I want him back," I said to her.

"You're kind of rude, you know. Aren't you going to welcome me into your house, seeing I brought some nice things for your kid? I'm Mary Alice, by the way. Jasper's wife"

I narrowed my eyes at her. I was about to correct her that she was his ex-wife now, but seeing that she had Edward in her arms, I didn't want to risk any harm to him even though she didn't look like she had any weapons on her but I kept my mouth shut. She could easily harm Edward without any weapon. He was too small to fight her off if she snapped.

"Ummm. Please come in," I said hesitantly.

She walked into the living room still holding Edward in her arms tightly. "Tea would be great," she said and sat on the couch.

This could be bad. She hasn't threatened me, and I welcomed her into the house even though from my point of view I was forced to, so even if Dad's boys came they probably wouldn't be able to do much about it. While I had my back towards her, I typed _Help. She's in my house,_ and sent the text to Jasper. I wished Dad hadn't gone fishing. Even if I contacted him now, everything could be over before he was back from the reservation.

My hand shook while I poured the hot water into the tea pot. The tea cup and the tea pot clattered on the tray while I carried it to the living room.

"Why are you so nervous? I'm not going to harm you guys. I just want to talk," she said to me. "He's a cute kid. A bit unfortunate he doesn't have his Dad's eyes though. These ugly brown eyes do nothing for him. Edward Cullen was a really good looking boy."

She was pushing it. I could tell she wanted to aggravate me. I wasn't going to fall for it. I prayed that Jasper would notice my message and fly in through the door.

I tried to be sneaky and tugged on Edward's shirt to pull him towards me but Mary Alice noticed and held him even tighter and glared at me.

"So, you have the keys to his new place already?" She asked with a death glare. "I saw you unlock his door and go into his place with your son. You're messing with my plan, Isabella. No one messes with my plan. Jasper was supposed to stay alone. He was supposed to show up on my doorstep at my home in New York and we were going to get married again. "

"But **you** divorced him…"

"Shut up, Isabella. Don't interrupt me," she snapped at me. She grasped Edward too tight and he yelped. "Oh I'm sorry, little kid, here, have another cookie," she said and gave Edward another cookie out of the bag. "I divorced him because I needed him to realize what he lost. I needed him to leave Forks to come to live with me in New York. You and this kid is a nuisance to me. Go back to wherever you guys came from and all will be fine."

"Are you done talking? I'd like you to leave now," I said and tried to pull Edward away from her.

"Get your stupid hands off the kid. You know Jasper is only interested in you because you are the polar opposite of me. You're so plain and there isn't an ounce of femininity in you. You're just a mom. You're not a woman anymore. You're just a mother figure to him. You're giving him the kind of comfort that mothers give a child. He's not interested in you for anything romantic. How could he? Have you seen yourself in the mirror?" she said and slapped my hand off Edward.

That did it. I couldn't hold my anger any more. Right as I was about to force Edward out of her arms, Rosalie busted into the house.

"GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, BITCH," Rosalie roared. She pushed me aside and grabbed Edward out of her arms with so much force that Mary Alice flew off the couch. I saw fear in Mary Alice's eyes. She quickly took a few steps back. Rose now had Edward in her arms securely.

"I've done nothing. She welcomed me into her home," Mary Alice pointed at me.

"I asked you to leave already. Please leave now," I said forcefully. I felt strong and secure now that Rose was with me. She wasn't one to mess with but I was afraid Rose might get hurt, and I didn't want her to have a miscarriage.

"You heard her. LEAVE!" Rose screamed at Mary Alice. Rose noticed the baseball bat by the recliner and grabbed it. Mary Alice screeched and screamed when Rose raised the baseball bat and threatened her that she won't be afraid to use the bat if she wouldn't leave on her own.

At that moment Jasper and Deputy Steve came running into the house. Jasper quickly came to my side and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Ladies, would you care to explain to me what's going on here?" Deputy Steve asked.

"She threatened to hit me with the baseball bat," Mary Alice shouted at Deputy Steve while she pointed at Rose who still held onto the bat.

"Would you mind handing the bat over to me, Mrs. McCarty?" Deputy Steve said and took the bat out of Rosalie's hand.

"I found her inside my door with my son in her arms. She said she wanted to talk so I let her in. Once she said what she wanted to say, I asked her to leave but she wouldn't. That's when Rose came in and demanded Miss Brandon to leave my home," I explained to Deputy Steve.

"Is that true, Miss Brandon?" Deputy Steve asked Mary Alice for confirmation and she nodded. "Well, Miss Brandon, I think it would be best for you to leave now. I see that none of you are hurt. Are we all done here, ladies?"

"Yes." We all said in unison.

Mary Alice huffed and said "This isn't over," to me as she walked towards the door with Deputy Steve behind her. Deputy Steve turned around and winked at me before he stepped out and closed the door.

**Jasper POV**

It had only been two days since I last saw Bella, but I really missed her. I just had one more class to teach and I would be done for the day. After a quick stop at my house I planned to drop by Bella's and take her out to dinner. She told me her Dad had a day off and would be home for dinner so he could watch Edward for her.

I had such a great time on Sunday. Dinner at 3 Crabs was eventful. Emmett was being Emmett. He acted like he was a kid and made Edward laugh throughout dinner. The Chief was home when we got back and Bella and I explained to him the situation involving Mary Alice. He told me that he also agreed it would be a good idea for my lawyer to send an official letter of warning to Mary Alice to stop meddling with my business and that he'd warn all his deputies to keep an eye out for Mary Alice. He advised me to file a report but he understood Bella's concern that she didn't want things to blow out of proportion. We both had enough people meddling with our business and if I filed a report there wasn't a doubt in our minds that Mrs. Brandon would spread lies to cover things up for her daughter and paint Mary Alice as a Saint and Bella as the evil one.

Right as I was about to leave the campus my phone buzzed. I hadn't checked who it was from at first so I didn't understand the meaning of the next, but as soon as I found out that the text was from Bella, I panicked.

_**Help. She's in my house**_

I could only assume she meant that Mary Alice was in her house. I grabbed my phone and called the station to ask for someone to go and check on the Chief's house. I told them there was an intruder and that the Chief's daughter sent me a text message asking for help.

Before I took off I tried Emmett on his cell phone but only got his answering machine. When I called the house Rose picked up. I asked her to try to get a hold of Emmett for me and for him to meet me at Bella's. I told her that Mary Alice was there and that I got a distressed text message from Bella that she needed rescuing. Rose told me to be careful and that she'll locate Emmett for me. I jumped into my truck and as I was about to pass the station, I saw Deputy Steve come out of the station. I shouted to him and he told me to follow him as he was heading to the Swan's.

When we got to the house, I saw Mary Alice's Porsche parked across the street, Bella's car, and to my surprise Rose's car was also parked in the driveway with the door hanging open. We heard yelling, screaming, and screeching when we got closer to the door. Deputy Steve sped into the house and I followed right behind him.

The first thing I saw was Bella's shaking body and colorless face. She looked like she was barely standing on her own. I quickly went to her and wrapped my arms around her to steady her.

Since all the deputies at the station were alerted in regards to the situation between Mary Alice and I, I was confident that Deputy Steve would act accordingly. Just as I presumed he took care of the situation immediately and escorted Mary Alice out of the house.

Rose was seething and her eyes looked so vicious, she looked like Medusa incarnate. A mere sight from her would definitely turn anyone into stone. I couldn't thank her more for what she'd done for Bella and Edward. I didn't even want to think what would have happened if she wasn't here. Was Mary Alice capable of harm or capable of kidnapping Edward?

I sat Bella down on the couch. I went to Rose and pulled Edward out of her arms gently and forced her to sit down on the couch beside Bella. Rose wasn't herself yet. Bella still didn't have color in her face and Rose was crimson from rage. I sat Edward on Bella's lap and her arms immediately wrapped around Edward and cradled him. I squatted in front of them and took their hands. I kept repeating to Rose and Bella that everything was fine now and that they were all safe while I rubbed their hands. I felt powerless and I had no idea what to do.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. Mommy couldn't protect you," Bella said and sobbed. Those were the first words I heard out of Bella since I got here. I was relieved that she said something coherent but saddened at what she said.

"Bella darlin', it wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you two. I'm so sorry I brought harm into your life." Those were my honest feelings. If I didn't walk into her life, none of this would have happened.

Rose narrowed her eyes and glared at me. "It's not your fault either, you idiot. It's the Ice Queen's fault. How did she get in here anyway?"

"I don't really know for sure. My guess is she tricked Edward into opening the door with the goodies. She brought donuts, chocolates, cookies, and stuffed animals. She was already in the foyer when I came out of the laundry room." Bella said and pointed at the shopping bag Mary Alice left behind.

"Like I said. Ice Queen. She's just like Jadis, the White Witch with Turkish delights from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Make sure Edward doesn't fall for her tricks again and get another bolt so that Edward can't open the door on his own," Rose said while she rubbed Edward's back who now looked like he was about to fall asleep in Bella's lap.

Right after I made some tea for the girls, I heard a car screech to a stop in front of the house. There was a loud banging on the door and a disheveled looking Emmett stood in front of the door. "What happened???" was the first thing Emmett said as he walked into the house.

"It's all fine now, Em," Rose said and comforted Emmett. "Just take me home. You guys will be all right on your own?" Rose asked.

"Thanks for everything, Rose," I said and hugged her.

"Don't mention it. I did what anyone would have done in that situation. Just take good care of them," Rose said and Bella looked up and thanked her in a really weak and shaky voice.

Once Rose and Emmett left, I went back to the couch and pulled Bella and Edward into my arms. "What happened before I got here?" I asked Bella.

"She wants you back, Jasper. She said I messed up her plans. She intended on you following her to New York. The divorce was just part of her plan to win you back. She said something about you realizing how much you needed her once you lost her."

I knew Mary Alice had some seriously fucked up thinking process, but this was outrageous even for her. Her distorted interpretation of Richard Bach's quote was ridiculous. Sane people don't let the love of your life go just to see if they return to you. She was definitely going to find out real soon that I was never hers since I had no intention of returning to her.

I now regretted that I married her. Her actions now made me question even the good memories I had with her. I wanted her out of my life. She was now harming the best thing that happened to me since the divorce. I prayed that Bella wouldn't regret being with me. I didn't want to lose her over Mary Alice's stupidity.

"I don't want her. I want you, Bella. Will you forgive me for bringing all this drama into your life?"

"There's nothing to forgive because you haven't done anything wrong. I want you too, but what happened today was just too much. Now I don't even feel safe in my own home. I understand that your ex-wife wasn't here to harm Edward or me, but she could have. That thought alone scares me. Before she left, she said 'this isn't over'."

"I promise to take care of this. I'll talk to my lawyer and set up a meeting with her with my lawyer and hers. Please don't give up on me. Please don't give up on us."

"There is an 'us'?" Bella asked.

"I'd like to think so," I said and held her cheeks in my hands.

I brought my lips to hers and it was so soft and warm. I licked her lips and she opened them. My tongue met hers and she tasted sweet like honey. I ran my fingers through her hair and deepened the kiss. I was consumed by her. There were only us in my little happy bubble until we were rudely interrupted by a clearing of a throat.

We both opened our eyes at the same time and looked up. Chief Swan looked relieved and a little embarrassed walking in on us kissing.

"Looks like everything seem to be in order now," the Chief said and walked out of the living room.

"Oops," Bella whispered.

"Stay here, I'll go and talk to the Chief," I said and shifted Bella off of me and got up from the couch. It was so nice and warm cuddled on the couch with Bella but I had to go and explain what happened to the Chief. He must've been really worried seeing that he cut his fishing trip short.

"Hello, Chief. I'm very sorry for the trouble my ex-wife created today," I said to him and he nodded.

"I know the gist of what went down from Deputy Steve, but I'd like to know what you plan to do about it."

"I'll be calling my lawyer to set up a meeting to talk to Mary Alice with our lawyers present so that I can make it clear to her that I have no intentions of getting back with her and that I don't want her to contact me by any means except through my lawyer anymore. I will warn her that the next wrong move by her will automatically mean that I will be filing for a restraining order against her to stay away from Bella, Edward, and I."

"I trust that you keep your word, Jasper. I'm sure you won't have any problem with getting the restraining order if you choose to do so. I will remind my boys to keep an eye out for Mary Alice. If she tries to harm Bella and Edward in any way again, I will force Bella to file a restraining order against her and I don't care if that will inconvenience the Brandon's. Mary Alice wouldn't be able to do anything in town. I'll make sure to enforce the distance she needs to keep from her and arrest Mary Alice the minute she breaches it."

"I will make sure this meeting happens while Mary Alice is in Forks," I said to the Chief.

"Don't hurt her, Jasper. They'll be consequences," Chief said and he looked serious.

I nodded and left the kitchen to go back to Bella. "Is everything all right?" Bella asked.

"Yeah. I explained to the Chief that I'll be meeting with Mary Alice with my lawyer as soon as possible."

I felt drained and it looked like Bella had enough for the day as well. She didn't look like she would want to go out for dinner anymore. We snuggled on the couch in silence and the Chief came into the living room looking uncomfortable.

"I hate to do this to you kids but I think it would be better to keep the incident on record to be able to use it later if we choose to slap a restraining order on Mary Alice so I'd like to take you kids to the station to take an official statement. Bella is my daughter and it happened in my home so I'll need to have it done by one of my deputies."

Bella sighed. "All right, Dad. I'll just go and freshen up a bit," Bella said and got up from the couch. "Could you make sure Edward doesn't roll off the couch?"

""Sure," I said to Bella and she left the living room to go upstairs.

After Bella came back downstairs we all got into the Chief's cruiser and went to the station. Edward was still napping so I carried him into the station. While Bella was getting her statement taken, I made a call to Jenks.

"Hello, Jason."

"Hello, Jasper. I sent the document to stop Mary Alice from harassing you this morning. Did you get the copy?"

"Not yet. I haven't been home since morning. Things turned for the worse. Mary Alice went to harass Bella today. Bella found her inside her home."

"What? Mary Alice broke into her home?" Jenks asked shouting.

"She didn't break in, but we think she tricked her son into letting her into the house. We aren't really sure. It's not like we could ask her son. I don't think he'd even understand the question. Mary Alice had a bag of treats and stuffed animal. Bella found her standing in the foyer with her son in her arms."

"Damn, that's scary. No rabbit cooking on the stove?"

"Jason, it's not Fatal Attractions and I'm not having an affair. I'm divorced. Please don't compare Mary Alice to that psycho in that movie. That movie scared the shit out of me."

"All right, all right, I only meant to lighten the mood a bit, but just make sure Mary Alice doesn't kidnap your girlfriend's son and take him to the amusement park like in that movie. Anyhow, what do you want me to do?"

"I need you to set up a meeting to see her and her lawyer and I need you to sit in as well. I need to take care of this while she's in Forks."

"No problem. I can clear my schedule if necessary. Wouldn't it be easier if we just slapped a restraining order on her? You have enough on her that any judge will grant you the restraining order without even blinking."

"I thought about it, but this is her home town, and her parents are here. I don't want Mary Alice's family and friends to harass Bella because of my actions."

"You're too soft, Jasper. One of these days you will regret being so sensitive about everything. Sometimes you have to play hard ball. Even if the ignorant people hassle Bella now, in the end it might help her if we went for the restraining order now."

I sighed. Was I really being too soft? I didn't want to slap a restraining order on Mary Alice yet because once I do that the whole town will be talking about Bella, Mary Alice and I. Mr. and Mrs. Brandon will fiercely spread lies to make sure Mary Alice comes out looking like the victim and I just didn't want unnecessary attention on Bella from the town gossips. It was already bad enough.

"Call me when you get the meeting set up. Be ready for Mary Alice. She probably has something up her sleeve. She told Bella that things aren't over yet. She is so messed up. She thinks the divorce would have woken me up and beg her to take me back. She is so far from the truth it scares me."

"Well, I'll contact you as soon as I get everything set up. Take care, Jasper. Mary Alice is the type who would think that if she can't have you, no one else can so make sure you are never alone. She might go after you next."

The thought scared me, but would Mary Alice really go that far? She couldn't be that stupid. Could she?

Once our statements were taken the Chief took us back to his house since I left my truck there. He told me to take Bella out to dinner since she looked to too tired to cook and thought we needed some time together privately. He told Bella that he'd take Edward out to the diner.

Bella looked like there was something on her mind she wanted to discuss with me. I felt her glance at me several times and her mouth open a little as if she was about to say something, but she would close her mouth before the actual words came out.

"Can we just go to your house for a little bit?" Bella asked.

"Sure," I said and drove to my place.

"I think I'm going to take my car so that you don't need to drive me back," Bella said and walked to her car before I could object. I'm not sure why I felt really tense after hearing that she wanted to take her car.

After we got to my place, I told Bella to get comfortable on the couch and I went to the kitchen and made some herbal tea for Bella. When I got back to the living room, I saw pain in Bella's eyes.

"What's wrong, Bella?" I asked and sat beside her on the couch.

"I don't want to do this. I really don't want to do this, but I have to," Bella said and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"You never have to do anything you don't want to do. What's wrong? Let me help you."

"I've never felt so scared in my life. My priority is to take care of Edward and I failed. He could have been seriously hurt. She could have kidnapped him. She didn't, but she could have easily. I could have lost him. I already lost his father. Your ex-wife could have harmed me. Then Edward could have lost me too. I know none of this happened, but it was a very big possibility. I'm sorry, Jasper. I need to protect my son. Until I know that we are safe from your ex-wife, I can't be with you. Please understand that I don't want to do this, but I think this is the only way for me to protect my son," Bella said and cried.

The pain I felt after I heard the words from Bella was one that closely matched the pain I felt when Mary Alice left me. I felt devastated, but at the same time I was furious. Mary Alice now took away the only thing that made me happy after the divorce.

"I'm really sorry for putting you and Edward in harm's way. I understand but I wish it didn't have to come to this. I wish you would let me be there for you two. I realize that it is a selfish request since I'm the root cause," instead of trying to convince to stay with me, I decided to accept her wish for now. It was hard to keep myself from crying. I didn't want to cry in front of Bella. Bella still sobbed and her eyes were red and puffy.

"I think I'm going to go now," Bella said and got up from the couch. We haven't even eaten dinner, but I had lost my appetite and Bella didn't look hungry either.

"Can I still call you?" I asked Bella and she nodded. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out when I see Mary Alice with my lawyer." Bella nodded as she opened the door to her car. I pulled her into me and held her.

"I don't want to lose you. Please remember that. I'm going to do everything in my power to get rid of Mary Alice for good out of my life," I said and kissed her on her cheek.

I watched Bella drive away from my place. It felt like I now had a hole in my heart where Bella and Edward used to be. I hadn't known Bella and Edward that long yet but they had already become a big part of my life. I texted Emmett after I got back inside the house.

_**I lost Bella.**_

A minute later, I received a text message back from Emmett.

_**Pick your ass up off the couch and get over here before Rose busts your door down.**_

I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but decided to go since I really owed Rose for what she had done for Bella and Edward today. Right as I was around the corner to the McCarty's, I noticed Mary Alice's Porsche following me. I seriously questioned Mary Alice's sanity. For a brief moment I was scared for my life. Would Mary Alice purposely crash into my car? I was tense until I pulled into Em's driveway. Thankfully she didn't crash into my car from behind.

I couldn't wait for the meeting to happen so that I could rid her out of my life. I was definitely filing for a restraining order if she tried to stall the meeting from happening. After I parked my car in their driveway, Mary Alice drove past me and blew me a kiss. Chills ran down my spine. I pulled myself together and got out of my truck. I noticed Em standing outside the door.

"Dang, she's stalking you now?"

"You saw that?"

"You bet I did. I even got a picture of her blowing a kiss to you," Emmett said and showed me the picture he took with his cell phone.

"Awesome. I can use it for evidence if necessary. Thanks, Em."

"No problem. Rose and I are now on a crusade to get rid of that bitch out of our lives."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this and that I got Rose so worked up today. I hope she's feeling better now."

"Rosie is fiercely protective of everyone she cares about. If you didn't call us, she would have been really upset. She's just mad that she didn't get to skin Mary Alice alive or get a punch into her today. She wants to sucker punch that bitch next time she sees her so we better rid Mary Alice out of town before Rosie gets her hands on her. I don't want Rosie arrested because of Mary Alice."

"I've spoken to my lawyer. He'll contact her lawyer and try to set something up before she leaves Forks."

"I'm glad to hear that. Anyway, come in. Rose wants to know what happened after we left," Em said and pushed me into his house.

Rose was sitting on the couch in the living room. As soon as she saw me she waved to me to sit beside her.

"How did things go after I left?"

"She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone?" Rose looked shocked.

"She told me that Mary Alice wanted me back and I told her that I didn't want Mary Alice. I told her I wanted her and that I didn't want her to give up on us, but that wasn't enough. She needed to protect Edward and with what happened today I don't blame her for wanting me out of her life."

"It's not over. Don't give up. Give her some time to calm down. Bella is overwhelmed right now. In the mean time we need to get of rid Mary Alice." Rose hugged me with tears in her eyes. Bella and Edward had a huge impact on not only me, but on Rosalie as well. I really needed to deal with this situation quick.

* * *

**A/N **

I hope you liked the chapter. I'm sorry it took me a while to get this chapter out. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please leave me a review and let me know how you thought of this chapter! Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7 Every Rose has its thorns

Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.

I only own the plot of this story.

**Chapter 7 Every Rose has its thorns**

**Rosalie POV**

"Rosie, so how are we going to get rid of Mary Alice?" Emmett asked with a worried look. "I ran into Jasper in town today. He looked like he hadn't slept for days."

"I'm thinking of contacting some of my old acquaintances who may know Mary Alice personally, or some people in her social circle. I'm sure it won't be hard to dig up dirt on her."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"I have several in mind, but first of all I'm going to contact Jane. You remember her right? She used to be my hair stylist?"

"I remember her. But why her?"

"She's definitely the 'got to' person for the latest gossip. Models tend to pour their hearts out to their stylists. You spend so much time with them that they sort of become your therapist. If she doesn't have anything on Mary Alice, then no one else would."

"Wow, so she's that good? Wouldn't she want something in return though?"

"If I tell her a little about what Mary Alice did to Bella and Jasper it should be enough. She would be the first to hear about it, so she'll feel special. I'm sure that'll get her really excited and make her spill what she knows about Mary Alice to me."

"Good luck with that. Be very careful, Rosie. Choose your words wisely. We're doing this to help Bella and Jasper. We don't want to end up hurting them."

"I know. I know. Relax!" I said to Emmett and moved to the bedroom to make the call.

"Hello. Jane? It's Rosalie Hale McCarty."

"Rosalie Hale? Wow! To what do I owe the honor of this call? How long has it been since you left all the glory for that dreadful little town in Washington you now call home?"

"Too long."

"Sooooo. What can I do for you Rosalie? I'm sure this isn't just a social call."

"I need a little info from you. Do you know Mary Alice Brandon? She's a designer there. She's also from the town I now call 'home', and she's back in town," I said and chuckled.

"Oooh. This is good. We were all wondering where she fled to."

"Fled?" I had no idea there was another reason why Mary Alice was back in Forks other than wanting Jasper back.

"Yup. Mary Alice Brandon is hiding from a lot of angry people right now. She must have done something there too since you're asking about her. So what is she up to?"

"Mary Alice threatened a friend of mine who's dating her ex-husband."

"Damn! She just can't keep her hands off other people's men."

"Did she hit on someone gossip worthy in New York?"

"Smooth, Hale. Real smooth. You're trying to fish info from me, aren't ya? That's okay though. You give me something and I'll give you something in return."

"Fair enough. Mary Alice divorced her husband. Her ex-husband met someone and he's currently dating, but Mary Alice wanted him back. She barged into her ex-husband's girlfriend's house and held on to her son. Police got involved. She didn't get arrested, but her ex's girlfriend's father is the Chief of Police in this town so they are watching her like a hawk, and will not hesitate to throw her ass in jail the minute she fucks up," I explained to Jane.

"Nice. She deserves that. Call Victoria Chapelier. I could tell you, but it would be more interesting to hear it direct from the source. Things got really messy between Mary Alice, Victoria, her boyfriend, James, and Laurent."

"Laurent?"

"Oh, maybe you don't know him. His magazine is quite new. He's the editor in chief of Strawberries and Champagne. It's a new lifestyle magazine. The circulation of the magazine is phenomenal. All the designers want their line featured in that magazine."

I couldn't believe Mary Alice's stupidity. No one messed with Victoria. There were rumors that she was the granddaughter of one of the prominent crime families in New York. Her boyfriend, James, was also rumored as being the son of a capo of another prominent crime family in New York. In my modeling career I stayed clear from jobs Victoria Chapelier wanted. She was very possessive. It was rumored that if Victoria found out you stole or landed a job she was named as a possibility, she would hunt you down and end your career. I've heard too many horror stories of models "accidentally" injured before the job or during the shoot, and never work as a model again. There was no proof that Victoria had a hand in it, but there were too many coincidences for me to risk myself. I didn't feel comfortable calling Victoria, but the need to rid Mary Alice was priority, so I decided to suck it up, and give her a call.

"Thanks for the info, Jane. You're a life saver."

"My pleasure, Rosalie. You just made my day. Take care and say, Hi, to Emmett for me. I miss you guys. Come and visit us soon!" Jane said and I ended the call so that I could get right on calling Victoria.

"Hello, Victoria. It's Rosalie Hale McCarty. Long time. How are things going for you?"

"Rosalie? Wow, I never imagined getting a call from you. What made you even think of me anyway? It's been a while since you left New York."

"Do you know Mary Alice Brandon? She's a designer in New York. Well, she's from where I live and I just saw her. She reminded me of you since you are also a designer in New York."

"Mary Alice is in your town? Well I'm not surprised she's hiding there right now. If you see her, tell her that I said 'Hi' and that I'd better not see her ass back in New York," she said and laughed. Her laugh sounded so evil, I had chills down my spine.

"What? What did she do?" I said to her as if I didn't know anything about what happened between her boyfriend and Mary Alice.

"Tsk,tsk, tsk, Rosalie. Fishing for some info? Oh well, I like you. You were smart. You never bothered me. Let's see, what did Mary Alice do? Well, first, I caught her in bed with my boyfriend, James. I should have shot her then and ended everything there. She was in my home. I could have said I mistook her for an intruder, but I didn't want my sheets dirtied with her brain matter, so I kicked her out of my condo naked. Oh you should have seen how quick that little pixie ran to the elevator," Victoria said and laughed. She then continued to tell me what happened.

"James and I almost broke up, but I forgave him. She wasn't worth breaking up over. After finding her in bed with my boyfriend, I found out that Mary Alice approached him to secure a venue for her after party during Fashion Week. She tried to convince James to give her the night my party was supposed to take place at his club. James turned her down. He told her to get lost if she cared for her life, and to stay clear from me." When she stressed on the word "life" I realized that the threat wasn't a joke. If she stayed in New York and bothered them more, it was a real possibility that she would be at the bottom of the ocean with the fishes.

"Last, but not least, James and I found out that Mary Alice had another agenda when she tried to steal James from me. Before I caught them in bed together, James had introduced her to his best friend, Laurent. Laurent is the editor in chief of Strawberries and Champagne. Mary Alice was sleeping with Laurent to secure a monthly coverage of her designs in that magazine. Laurent's wife, Irina, had a private investigator on Laurent's ass after she suspected him of cheating on her. The private investigator gave pictures of Mary Alice amongst other ladies Laurent had been sleeping with to Irina. So after Irina saw the pictures, she called me to ask who Mary Alice Brandon was. That was how I found out. Mary Alice has too many enemies here. She would be insane to come back. So, now it's your turn to tell me something juicy about Mary Alice. She couldn't be behaving there."

"Well, she's made quite a few enemies here too."

"I'm not surprised. What did she do? Did she also try to hit on someone's boyfriend or husband there too?"

"Worse. She wants her ex-husband back when she's the one who filed for divorce. She wanted to win back her ex-husband and go back to New York with him. Her ex-husband is a very close friend of my husband, and he's already involved with someone else. Mary Alice got into her house, held on to her son, and threatened her to leave Forks."

"Damn. She's deranged. Were they all right? Did she harm them?" I could sense that Victoria wasn't sincere and that she didn't care about Bella.

"I got there before she could inflict any harm on them."

"I don't want her back in New York. She's obviously not wanted in your town either. We need to work together," Victoria said and I couldn't agree with her more.

"Do you have something in mind?" I asked as if I had no intention of doing anything to Mary Alice.

"I've been trying to figure out what I can do to get back at Mary Alice without inflicting bodily harm on her. I think the dirt on Mary Alice involving my boyfriend and Laurent coupled with what she did to her ex and his lady is definitely tabloid worthy. Is the harassment on record in your town?"

"Yeah. My husband's friend and his girlfriend made an official statement of what happened so it's on record."

"Excellent! If we play this right the reporters from the tabloids can track the info down on their own. We won't have to get our hands dirty. I'll invite some of the eager writers to James' club and slip to them what Mary Alice did to me, James, and Laurent. I'm sure once the reporters start digging on Mary Alice they'll find out what she did to her ex-husband's girlfriend. We'll just see how it goes from there. If the tabloids find this news interesting, and I'm sure they would, it's a guarantee you'll see some reporters down in your little town soon. Mary Alice is going down. She'll end up getting all the attention from the press she always wanted, but in this case it's going to be the kind that would most likely end her career. She markets herself and her clothes line as innocent, fun, and cute, so once people hear the dirt on her, she's going to be history. I'm pretty sure the department stores will pull her line off their racks."

"Let me know how things go tonight," I said to Victoria and hung up the phone. I couldn't wait to see how things were going to unfold.

**Jasper POV**

Days passed in a blur since the incident at the Swan's. Jenks still wasn't able to get a hold of Mary Alice's lawyer. He was told that her lawyer was currently in New York and was unavailable to take his calls. Jenks believed that the lawyer was intentionally evading him.

As I was about to leave the teacher's lounge to leave for the day, one of the teachers told me that the headmaster wanted to see me. When I opened the door to his room, I was surprised to see the Chief there.

"Jasper, please have a seat. Chief Swan wants to have a word with you." I glanced at the Chief and he gave me a nod.

"Hello, Jasper. We have a little situation on our hands. We've received calls at the station from reporters wanting to know the details in regards to the incident that happened at my home between you, Mary Alice, and Bella. There are paparazzi in town. I've seen some in front of my home. I'm here to escort you out of the school so that the students stay unharmed by all this," the Chief explained to me.

"Paparazzi? They are at yours? Are Bella and Edward safe? Why are the paparazzi even here in Forks?" I asked and the Chief sighed.

"I didn't quite catch all the details, but according to the ladies working at the station, Mary Alice got herself caught in a love triangle with a super model, and the model's boyfriend. She also tried to secure some magazine coverage for her clothing line in an unconventional way. The reporters must have found out about the incident involving you, Bella, and Mary Alice, since the ladies at the station even said that the magazine mentioned about Bella being a single mother, and the accident involving Tyler Crowley and Edward Cullen. I rescued Bella and Edward from the reporters and took them to the Cullen's. Don't go home, Jasper. You should stay at a friend's place or at a hotel." This all seemed so unreal to me. I couldn't think.

"Ummm. Okay. Please give me a few minutes so that I could call Emmett or Rosalie, and ask if they'd let me stay with them." I said and stepped out. I wasn't prepared for this at all. It was hard to comprehend that Mary Alice was worth being hounded by the paparazzi. I felt horrible that the reporters were hassling Rosalie and Bella. I felt anger course through my body. Bella already felt unsafe in her home after the incident involving Mary Alice, and now she was even chased out of her home by the reporters.

"Hello. Rose? It's Jasper. Is Em around?" I called Rose, as I couldn't get a hold of Emmett.

"Hey, Jasper. Are you all right? Did you see the media circus? There are photographers and reporters. Even the people in town are out and about with their cameras. The diner even has a hotdog stand. I even saw a stand selling coffee and hot chocolate to cater to the paparazzi. Em and I couldn't stay home. Some of the reporters found out where I lived in Forks and have been pounding on our door to get a comment from me. When I called Bella, she told me that she was at the Cullen's. Esme Cullen extended her invitation to stay with them so Em and I are at the Cullen's now. Was there something you needed from us?"

"Oh, ummm. Don't worry about it. The Chief advised me not to go home to avoid the paparazzi. I was going to ask if I could stay with you guys. I'll just go to a hotel."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Jasper. Do you have to go to a hotel? Isn't there anyone else you could stay with? Oh wait. Just a second. Esme wants to talk to you."

"Hello. Jasper? This is Esme. I overheard your conversation with Rosalie. We have plenty of rooms here. Please stay with us instead of going to a hotel. I'm sure Bella and Edward would love to see you," Esme said. I was thankful for her invitation, but was not sure if Bella would be comfortable seeing me since she wanted a break from me until things with Mary Alice resolved. Before I could reply to Esme, I heard the voice I longed to hear.

"Jasper? It's Bella. Are you okay? Please come and stay with us at the Cullen's. I really miss you and so does Edward." Her voice was so sweet and comforting. I felt all the stress and anger towards Alice that built over the last few days subside.

"I would really like that, but are you sure it won't inconvenience the Cullens?"

"She's not the type to extend an invitation if she didn't mean it. Oh, she's nodding. She wants you to come over."

"Please thank her for me. I'll tell the Chief to take me there."

"Chief? You mean my Dad? What's my Dad doing there with you?"

"There are paparazzi at the school too. He came to escort me out of here so that the paparazzi won't disturb the students."

"Oh, I see. I'm glad to hear that you're with my Dad. He'll keep you safe. So, I'll see you soon?"

"Yup. See you soon, Bella," I said and I ended the call. Out of all the chaos, at least one good thing came out of this. I now had the opportunity to see Bella again.

I went back to the headmaster's office and informed the Chief that I'll be staying at the Cullen's with Bella, Edward, Rose, and Emmett. The Chief was pleased that all of us would be together. It made things easier for him and his boys to protect us.

When we stepped out of the headmaster's office, we were blinded by flashes. Students gathered to take pictures of me. The Chief, the headmaster, and several of the teachers surrounded me and rushed me out the front door. I used to be just a simple, small town, history teacher, but now I needed protection not only from the paparazzi, but also from students who were hungry for my pictures. They all looked really excited probably to post my pictures on the internet, and to tweet about me.

When I got into the Chief's cruiser he explained to me that one of his officers was taking my truck, and that I'd be hiding in the back of the Chief's cruiser, so that we won't lead the paparazzi to the Cullen' s residence.

When we got to the path that led to the Cullen's, I noticed that it was barricaded. I glanced at the Chief raising my brow. The Chief shrugged. He explained to me that even though the barricade might attract the paparazzi this was the only way to legally arrest any of them for trespassing, since this section of the path wasn't part of the Cullen's property.

As soon as I saw their house, my eyes immediately went right to the two people that my heart ached to see for days. Bella and Edward noticed the Chief's cruiser and came running towards us.

"Grandpa, Grandpa," I heard Edward call out to the Chief. As soon as he spotted me I saw the beautiful smile he had on his face turn into a frown. "No truck?" Edward asked.

I picked Edward up into my arms. "Not today. I promise we'll take a ride in my truck soon, okay?"

"Ooookay," Edward mumbled.

"Hi, Jasper," Bella said and hugged me. I wrapped my arm that was free around her, and felt a sense of relief. I had the two people I cared the most safely in my arms now. Then I heard the Chief clear his throat.

"I hate to break this reunion, but I'd feel better if you three took that into the house. The photographers could be lurking despite the barricade. They'll do anything to get their scoop."

I agreed with the Chief and rushed into the house. As soon as we stepped in, Esme greeted me with a warm, motherly smile.

"Welcome to my home, Jasper. I'm so happy to have you. Please consider my home as yours. I'll take Edward so that Bella can show you to your room."

"Thank you very much for your hospitality. I sincerely appreciate it. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you because of my ex-wife." I meant every word.

As soon as we stepped into the guestroom, Bella threw her arms around me. She felt so small and frail. I hated that I put her through all this. I felt horrible that the tabloids brought up Edward's death. Bella didn't need to relive that experience.

"I'm so sorry for all this, Bella. I'll do everything I can to keep you and little Edward safe. I'll call my lawyer and see what we can do about this situation."

"It's not your fault. She did a lot of damage to all of us, but I think things are only going to look upwards now. I have a feeling your ex didn't just come back here because she wanted you. I think she had another agenda. My theory is that she wanted to get back together with you to clean her image, but now the public knows what she did to you, me, and Edward. She has nothing to gain by getting back together with you. The public pities me because the tabloids painted me as the poor single Mom with a child whose father died from a tragic accident. The public will hate her if she takes you away from me. Now that there is no reason for her to be in Forks, I wouldn't be surprised if she hightails out of here the minute she can get away from the paparazzi." I was glad to see that she wasn't shaken up too badly, and that she didn't blame me for the harm Mary Alice caused them.

We sat on the edge of the bed and I held her really close to me. Bella rested her head on my chest and I rested my chin on top of her head. We sat together in silence until we were rudely interrupted by Emmett and little Edward busting in through the door.

"Hey guys, we're gonna watch some movies. Edward here wants to watch movies with trucks in them. We're gonna watch Twister, and then we're going to watch the Lethal Weapon series," Emmett said excitedly, pumping his fist in the air with Edward on his shoulders.

"Emmett, would you please keep your arms around Edward's legs or put him down? I don't want him falling off your shoulders," Bella said and scowled at Emmett.

As we comfortably sat around the TV to watch Twister, Edward went to Rosalie and snuggled into her chest.

"Just so you know. She's my woman." Emmett said to Edward.

Rosalie slapped the back of his head and scowled. "Idiot. He's just a little kid."

"Ouch. I was just kidding."

Edward and Emmett seemed to really get along with each other. I was fascinated with Emmett's skill of communicating with Edward. Twister seemed to be one of Emmett's favorite movies as he kept quoting the scenes from the movie.

"Food…Foooood….FOOOOOOOOD," Emmett quoted and Edward imitated him when the guys in the movie begged to be taken to Aunt Meg's place to be fed in the movie.

"Naked. Naked. Butt naked." Edward copied the actors in the movie. Emmett bellowed and Edward kept repeating the word "naked," over and over again.

"Umm Bella? Are you sure you want Edward watching this movie?" I asked. Bella just shrugged and didn't seem to mind.

"Mmmmm. Look at those steaks and eggs," Emmett said and pointed at the TV screen. He almost looked like he was drooling. "Oh and those mashed potatoes and gravy."

"We can have steak and eggs for dinner. Would you like that, Emmett?" Esme asked and Emmett's eyes sparkled.

"Really? Awesome!" Emmett raised his hand and high fived with Edward. I don't think Edward understood what he was high fiving for, but he looked happy nonetheless.

"Well, if we're having steaks, I need some help with the barbecue grill. Will you please help me set it up, Jasper?"

"It would be an honor to assist you," I said and followed Esme to show me the grill.

"I'm glad you joined us. I would have gone and dragged you over here if you didn't come on your own," Esme said and laughed.

"I'm thankful you invited me over. I missed her very much."

"I don't like the circumstance that brought you two here, but at least it got you two together under one roof," Esme said and I nodded.

"How is she?"

"Bella was really miserable not seeing you. You two seemed to have bonded really quickly. She needs you and it seems like you need her too. You haven't slept very much the past few days have you? You have dark circle around your eyes. Tonight you two can spend some quality time together. Carlisle and I'll watch Edward. Let's just hope Mary Alice and the paparazzi leave Forks soon," Esme said and patted my back. I quickly finished setting up the grill and Emmett came out with the steaks.

"I'm going back to the kitchen to make the potatoes and gravy. My gravy is another food group too," Esme said and laughed.

"You saw the movie too?" Emmett looked surprised.

"My son loved that movie. Edward and his friends wanted steaks and eggs after seeing that movie too," Esme laughed and went back inside.

The Chief joined us for dinner. He seemed a little nervous at the dinner table, but relaxed as soon as Emmett started cracking jokes. When he served himself a lot of mashed potatoes on his plate, he earned a death glare from Bella.

"Dad, less potatoes. More salad," Bella said to him.

"Just today, Bells. I had a stressful day. Oh, I have some great news. I received a call from the Brandons requesting police escort to follow Alice's car out of town tonight at 9 p.m."

"She's leaving town at 9 p.m.?" Rosalie asked.

"Yes. Hopefully the paparazzi will leave as soon as Mary Alice leaves town. We'll be placing road blocks to ensure that Mary Alice can get out of here without the paparazzi following her, but we'll make sure to let the reporters know Mary Alice left town. If any of our delinquents happen to rid the road blocks so that the paparazzi can follow Mary Alice, I'd keep a blind eye. They'd be doing me a favor. I, as the Chief of Police, have to honor my role, but I'm Bella's father and Edward's grandfather first and foremost," the Chief said and raised his brow at Emmett.

I noticed Emmett grin at the Chief. They seemed to be communicating silently. I saw him text something from his phone. As soon as he seemed to have sent the message, I saw Rosalie look at her phone and giggle. I narrowed my eyes at Rosalie and she stuck her tongue out at me. They were on to something, but I didn't really care. I didn't want to waste my time on them. I just wanted to be with Bella and Edward.

As soon as the Chief excused himself to go back to the station, Rosalie and Emmett said they needed to run an errand. They told Esme and Carlisle that they won't be long and left the house.

Bella and I cuddled on the couch while Esme and Carlisle went to bathe Edward and tuck him in bed. My phone buzzed. I got a message with clips attached from Rosalie. Bella and I laughed when we saw the clips. The movie showed a man dressed in black, wearing the Ghostface mask from the movie Scream, removing the road block. There was no doubt in my mind that the man dressed in black was Emmett. The next clip showed the paparazzi vans speeding to catch up to Mary Alice's ride. The final clip showed a stretch limousine leaving Forks town limit with 3 police cruisers guarding the limo, but the paparazzi vans and cars belonging to the some of my students were right on their tail. It looked like a parade.

"So this was the errand Rosalie and Emmett had to run," Bella said and laughed.

"Well, looks like peace is restored in Forks," I said and kissed Bella.

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**A/N **

I'm sorry I took a while to update this story. One of my other stories, Amor Vincit Omnia, is coming to an end soon, so I needed to put a little work into that story. It also took me a while to come up with this scenario of how Rose was going to rid Mary Alice. I wanted something that went along with the theme and title of this story. I hope you liked this chapter. Now that Mary Alice is out of the picture I can concentrate on developing the relationship between Jasper and Bella. Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter! Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8 Creamy CN soup for the soul

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.**

I only own the plot of this story.

**Chapter 8 Creamy chicken noodle soup for the soul**

**JPOV**

"You are a very stupid, stupid man, Jasper Whitlock. Why did you take another woman out to dinner?" Rosalie screamed at me.

"I had no choice, Rosalie. The headmaster's daughter was back for a few days, and he asked me to take her out to dinner. I told him that the other teachers were a better choice, but he insisted that she'd have more fun with me, since she was also a history teacher. I just couldn't get out of it after how well he treated me during the Mary Alice fiasco. I owed him. How did you find out about the dinner anyway?"

"Bella."

"What?"

"I said, Bella. She was in Port Angeles with Edward to buy him some books, and Edward spotted your truck parked by the restaurant. They looked around for you, and Bella found you dining with another woman. I ran into her at Thriftway yesterday. She thinks you're just not that into her. She even told me that if Em and I felt awkward being friends with her since Em was your best friend, she said she would understand if we didn't want to socialize with her anymore. I don't want to lose a friend because of you." Rose screamed at me.

"Oh my god. Help me, Rose. I didn't mean for all that to happen. I want to be with her, Rose."

"You should've told her before you went on the date."

"It wasn't a date. It was just dinner so I didn't think it was something I needed to tell Bella. I didn't even pick his daughter up. We met at the restaurant and we left separately."

"Of course it was a date. I bet the headmaster's daughter asked him to. You were set up. You were just too ignorant to notice."

"What can I do?"

"Wallow in self pity. It's over. You made the bed. Go lie in it." Rose slammed the magazine she had in her hand on the coffee table.

"Please, Rose. Help me. Please don't be mad at me. It was unintentional. I didn't mean to hurt Bella or you."

"Can't you help him, Rosie?"

"I don't want to. Jasper, you're an ass. You're not good enough for her. You don't deserve her." Rose yelled and stomped off to their bedroom.

"I'll talk to Rose later, but I doubt she'll help you on this one. I haven't seen Rosie this upset in a really long time. I'm sure we'll figure something out."

"You know what? I'll just call Bella and ask if she'd see me so we can talk. It seems like it's the best approach."

"I don't know. We never seem to understand women. We just keep doing the opposite thing," Emmett said.

"Thanks for the very supportive comment. I'm gonna call her," I said to Em in a sarcastic tone and picked up the phone. Her phone rang a few times and went to voice mail. I left her a message that I wanted to talk to her and asked her to call me back.

"No luck?" I shook my head.

"I have a bad feeling. I'm gonna try something," Em said and pulled out his phone.

"Oh, umm. Hhhey Bella. How are ya?" Em stuttered. I was surprised to find out that it was Bella that Em called. What shocked me was that she didn't pick up when I just called. This was bad. She was screening her calls and purposely didn't pick up because it was me. "What are you up to tonight? Wanna come over for barbecue?... Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, at least it's good that his stomach is okay. I hope he feels better soon. I'll give you a call again in a few days. Kiss Edward for me. Bye!"

"What's wrong with Edward?"

"He has a fever. Carlisle checked him out and it's just a cold so it's not serious, but Bella sounded really stressed out. I think we can work this to our advantage though."

"Huh? How?"

"I think Rosie was right. You are stupid. Edward is sick. It's the perfect opportunity for you to show that you care about them. We'll make soup or something like that for Edward to help him feel better."

"I'm rather useless in the kitchen."

"So am I, but we've got the internet. We'll look up what to make when kids are sick. I'm good at following instructions. I'm sure we can manage to make soup."

Emmett and I went online and searched for recipes for chicken noodle soup on Food Network. We found a recipe called Creamy chicken noodle soup. We assumed Bella must have already made the clear broth kind so we chose the creamy type since Edward wasn't having stomach problems. Once we wrote the ingredients down we went shopping. We decided to add some animal shaped pasta to the recipe so that Edward could have some fun.

Once we were back we headed to the kitchen. I struggled to peel the skin off the roasted chicken we purchased. The directions said to put the chicken with onions, celery and carrots in a slow cooker, but we didn't exactly have three to four hours for it to cook, so Em and I decided to throw all that in the pressure cooker along with the cream of mushroom soup and chicken broth.

I've seen plenty of gag videos of people opening the pressure cooker before the pressure was down, so we looked up on the internet to find out the the mechanics of a pressure cooker. Em told me that Rose just got this pressure cooker a few months ago so it was safe to assume that these weren't the old ones that needed to be run under running water to bring the pressure down.

I had Em look for the instruction booklet that came with the pressure cooker so that we wouldn't destroy the soup. Thankfully the soup turned out semi decent. It was a little too thick so we added a little more chicken broth. I cut down on the amount of salt and pepper since the soup was for Edward. It seemed a little bland, but it wasn't bad at all.

We deemed the soup a success and I borrowed one of Rosalie's nice cast iron pot to transport the soup. I thanked Emmett and headed for Bella's. On the way to Bella's I stopped by Thrift way and bought some popsicles and ice cream.

I was really nervous when I knocked on their door holding the pot in my hands. I could visually see my hands shaking. Chief Swan opened the door and narrowed his eyes at me. I gave him my best "I'm very sorry and feel guilty" look and he nodded and let me in.

"Bella, there's someone here to see you!" Bella came running out of the kitchen and stopped in the foyer when she realized that it was me.

"Oh," was all she said.

"Come on in, I'll just go and check on Edward," the Chief said and went up the stairs. Bella just stared at me waiting for me to say something.

"I heard Edward is sick. I made some soup for him. This was my first attempt at making soup so I'm not exactly sure if I did everything right. It sort of looks like the soup in the picture of the recipe, I tasted it and I think it's okay. I cut down on salt, pepper, and the herbs since it's for Edward. I wasn't quite sure how sensitive kids' tongues were, but I assumed kids don't really like salty stuff."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. I've been really busy taking care of him, so I haven't really had time to cook anything. I had Dad go and buy canned soup," Bella said and took the pot from me. "Did you cook this at Emmett and Rosalie's?"

"Ummm. Yeah. How'd you guess?"

"You don't look like one who'd own a Le Creuset," Bella chuckled.

"What's that?"

"This pot alone costs like three hundred dollars. I'm going to dump the content into one of my pots so that you can return it to Rosalie. I'm afraid I might damage it and piss Rosalie off," Bella laughed.

"Damn, she had a whole lot of these pots and pans that looked alike so I just borrowed one of them."

"I sincerely hope it was used already. Otherwise you'd be the first to use it and she might not take kindly to that."

"It's just a pot."

"It's not just a pot. It's a Le Creuset. I'm sure our microwave oven doesn't even cost as much as this pot."

"Wow, I'll probably need to have Emmett sneak it back into the house then," I said and Bella giggled.

"I assume you're not just here to give us the soup."

"I wanted to talk to you."

"I know."

"Can I talk to you?"

"You're here. You might as well. Have a seat, I'm just gonna go and take care of this soup. Be right back."

Bella returned with Rosalie's pot washed and dried. She even put some homemade biscuits inside the pot.

"Just in case Rosalie finds out," Bella winked. I thanked Bella for saving my ass from Rosalie's wrath.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. It wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings. The headmaster's daughter was in town and he asked me to take her out to dinner. I refused, but I really owed him one. He was very understanding during the Mary Alice fiasco. He gave me days off without any prior notice. I should've told you. I was too stupid to realize that it would hurt you to see me dining with someone else. I care about you. I only have eyes for you. I'm not interested in anyone else. Bella, please forgive me. Please give me another chance."

"I wish you told me."

"I know. I messed up. I wasn't trying to hide it from you. I just wanted it over and done with. I didn't consider it as a date. It was like a business dinner to me. I know it sounds like excuses, but that's the truth. I really didn't intend on hurting you."

"If you want to be with me, you need to share things with me. I want to know what is going on in your life. When Mrs. Mallory came up to me today and told me she saw you on a date with another woman, I couldn't tell her that she was the headmaster's daughter because I didn't know. I had no ammunition to fight her back. I felt stupid. I don't want people laughing behind my back. I'm sure by now everyone in town think I got dumped by you. They'll all think I begged you to come back to me if they see me together with you again."

"I'm so sorry. What can I do to make things better?"

"I don't think there is anything you can do. Maybe it's better this way. Maybe Mrs. Mallory was right when she told me that I shouldn't even be dating since I had a little boy who should be my priority, and to let other single woman like her daughter to have the chance to date you."

"Bella, please don't say that. I finally got rid of Mary Alice. Things were going to get better for us. Please don't let my stupidity ruin our chance to be happy. I'll prove to you that we're good together. Please give me that chance. Please ignore the ones who have nothing better to do in their lives than stick their heads in other peoples' business. Please don't give them the pleasure of breaking us apart. I need you, Bella. Please don't let this ruin us." I had the hardest time controlling my anger towards Mrs. Mallory. She had no business confusing Bella. Even if something happened between Bella and me, Lauren would be the last person I'd ever go on a date with.

"Maybe I over reacted and should have trusted you that you wouldn't do such a thing to me, but seeing you with that woman who's closer to your age and so pretty, I lost all confidence in me. Maybe that's the problem here. Maybe I just don't feel worthy of you."

"Bella, that's not true. You know that's your anxiety talking, right? You're perfect for me. If anyone isn't worthy, it's me. I'm the one with the psycho ex-wife. You're beautiful, intelligent, you're a great mother, you're kind, caring, selfless, and you're just amazing. I've never met anyone like you. Please, please forgive me."

"I know you want me to say something right now, but I'm too exhausted from taking care of Edward, and still really hurt from what I saw. I'll call or come and see you when Edward is feeling better and I've had time to digest all that you just told me. Please understand."

"I do. I hope Edward feels better soon."

"Thanks for the soup. I'm sure he'll love it. I'll see you soon." I hugged Bella and went out the door.

**BPOV**

"Jasper left?" Dad asked walking into the living room from the kitchen. I didn't even realize he was back downstairs.

"Yeah."

"Talk to me, Bella. What's going on?"

"It's just a whole bunch of misunderstanding."

"I don't know what he did, but it can't be that bad. I don't see Jasper hurting you intentionally. I don't think it's in him to hurt anyone. He never even treated Mary Alice badly despite all that she'd done to him."

"I know. It's my fault. I just assumed the worst."

"Don't let your insecurities rule over you. He's a good guy, Bella. Life is too short. You of all people should know how precious life is. Don't let go of him. He loves you, Bells. I can see it in his eyes. Did you see all the cuts and scrapes on his hands and arm? He went through all that to make Edward that soup, which by the way is pretty good. Edward's fever is down, he's okay now. I'll look after him. Go see Jasper."

"I told him I'll see him soon."

"Bella, don't let him suffer any longer. You even admitted that you assumed the worst. It wasn't just his fault right? You could have asked him before you assumed the worst. You two need to learn to communicate. There's no better time than now. Go, Bella. Don't let yourpride get in the way. Don't lose him like I lost your Mom." I was hesitant, but Dad's words were convincing. I grabbed my jacket and my keys and waved at Dad.

I felt guilty leaving Edward behind. Dad said his fever was down, but I was his mommy. My priority should have been taking care of Edward. The further away I got from home, the worse I felt. By the time I knocked on Jasper's door, I was in tears.

"Hey, what's wrong? Come here," Jasper said and hugged me tight when he opened the door..

"I'm an awful mother. His fever is down but I should be with him. I left him with Dad."

"Sshhh. It's okay. Your Dad will take good care of him. He'll be fine. I'm more worried about you," Jasper said and rubbed soothing circles on my back.

"I don't want to lose you either. I should have called and asked you who she was and why you were having dinner with her instead of assuming that you found someone else. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I gave you the reason to assume that." Jasper said and led me to his couch.

"I let my insecurities get the better of me. It's my fault too."

"Water under the bridge. There's no point in trying to take the blame. Let's learn from this mistake and communicate better. So, can I take you out on a date this coming weekend? Let's leave this craziness behind and get away from Forks. Just you, me, and Edward."

"I'd love that," I said and wrapped my arms around his neck. Jasper leaned into me and gave me a kiss. It was soft, tender, and loving. It felt so sweet and comforting. I didn't want to let go of him, and neither did he. He pulled me into him and lay us down on the couch. I felt like I was wrapped in warm blanket. I wanted to fall asleep, but Jasper reminded me that I had a little boy at home who needed me.

"As much as I want to fall asleep with you in my arms, there's a little boy who would want to see his mommy as soon as he wakes up in the morning. I'll follow you from behind your car in my truck, so that I can make sure you make it home safely. I don't want the Chief to have to use his gun on me."

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**A/N**

Did you like it? I'm sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the other ones. It was going to be too long if I included the trip, so I left this chapter short. I finished my other story, Amor Vincit Omnia, I just have the epilogue to write so I should be able to work on this story more now.

Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts! Thank you!

On another note, I have started a new story, Cardinal Sins. It's a Bella/Edward Suspense/Romance story. Bella is a 17 yr old girl computer geek, 3 months short of turning 18. Renee passes away and she's left behind with Phil. He finds Bella's game and sells the rights to Volturi Games, owned by Aro Volturi. Aro Volturi is Esme's brother. Emmett and Edward works for Aro. Edward is 22 yrs old. Phil keeps Bella locked up in the house to force her to work on making the game. Bella reaches out to Charlie, who she doesn't remember and hasn't been in touch with ever since Renee moved away from Forks when Bella was barely one year old.

I've posted three chapters, so it should be enough for you to judge if you want to keep reading the story or not. It would be great if you could try it out. You'll be able to find the story in my profile, under "My stories," or you can search under Books-Twilight-Cardinal Sins.


	9. Chapter 9 Tranquility

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. **

**I only own the plot of this story. **

**Chapter 9 Tranquility**

**JPOV**

I couldn't stop smiling as I loaded the ice cooler full of water bottles and drinks onto my truck. With all the drama we had involving Mary Alice it seemed like a miracle what I had with Bella survived through it. What we had was still very new and fragile. Today was the first time we were getting away from everyone and all the craziness in Forks. We were leaving for Victoria, BC, from Port Angeles on the Coho Ferry at 8:20 a.m. I thought it was a little too early, but Bella didn't mind at all, mentioning that Edward woke her up bright and early every morning anyway, so it was no different to them.

We spent last week planning for this trip to Victoria. I even consulted Rosalie in picking the place we would spend the night. Mary Alice always chose a five star hotel or a romantic bed and breakfast, but since Bella and I were travelling with Edward, she advised me to look for a place with Edward in mind. When she first suggested that, I realized I knew little to nothing about traveling with a small child. We looked at several hotels and inns comparing the positive and the negative aspects of them, and settled on choosing Inn at Laurel Point. Since we were only staying for one night, I decided to splurge a little and booked a Terrace Suite. I wanted this trip for us to be really special and memorable.

When I got to Bella's place, I found the Chief standing in the driveway with Edward bouncing around him. The Chief looked relieved as soon as his eyes met mine. "Morning, Jasper. I'm glad you're finally here. There's a little boy here who got thrown out of the house because he couldn't contain his excitement about the trip. He broke a vase, dropped a plate of food, ran into his Mommy and made her trip, and wouldn't stop bouncing on the couch," the Chief said and laughed.

"Oh are you excited to go to Victoria?" I asked Edward. He nodded eagerly. "Have you been on a ferry before? A really big boat?" He shook his head repetitively. "Well, I'm happy I'm the first to take you on a ferry ride then," I said and picked Edward up and lifted him up onto the back of my truck. He sat down and started to fiddle with the ice cooler. I was afraid he might hurt his fingers, so I opened the ice cooler for him and his hands went straight to the juice box.

"Can I have this?" Edward asked and showed me the apple juice. I looked at the Chief since Bella wasn't around for confirmation if it was all right. The Chief just shrugged so I let Edward have the apple juice.

Bella came out dressed in a white knit knee length dress with knee high boots. She had her hair down and she looked absolutely beautiful. She was smiling and she looked happy. I hadn't seen her smile like this in a while. I had a good feeling we were going to have a great trip.

"Good mornin' beautiful," I said and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She blushed and smiled at me as she glanced at the Chief who was also smiling. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup. You should be warned, Edward is a real handful today. He's so excited. I'm afraid he'll do some damage on the ferry."

"I heard from the Chief. Are you all right? I heard Edward ran into you and you fell."

"It's not a big deal. I just bruised my knees a little. It's an everyday occurrence," Bella laughed.

"All right little guy. Let's get you buckled into the back seat."

"I'll just grab his car seat from my car."

"No need. I got a car seat for him for my truck," I said and stopped Bella.

"Oh, you didn't need to do that. Child seats are so expensive."

"Don't worry. It was worth every cent. It's more convenient this way. Well, we should hit the road soon."

"See you Sunday night, Dad. Have a safe fishing trip with Billy," Bella said and hugged the Chief. "Edward, say 'bye' to Grandpa."

I lifted Edward out of the back of my truck and set him down on the ground. He bounced to the Chief and the Chief picked him up and gave him a kiss. "Bells? Do you have Edward's birth certificate with you?" Bella nodded. Edward didn't have a passport and since he was under 15 yrs old, we just needed to show his birth certificate for him to enter Victoria. "Have a great trip, kids. See you guys back on Sunday."

"We won't be home for dinner tomorrow night, but that is not a green light for you to go to the diner and feast on steak and potatoes, all right Dad?" The Chief frowned and nodded at Bella.

The trip to Port Angeles was smooth and we didn't have any trouble at all. As soon as we were on the ferry, I laughed when Bella made Edward wear a life jacket. "Don't laugh. I promised Esme that he'd wear one on the ferry. As soon as I told her we were taking the ferry to Victoria, she went to the Newton's and got him a life jacket. I told her that I was sure that the ferry was equipped with all safety gears but she wouldn't budge." Bella frowned.

Once we were settled, we went to the cafeteria for a little snack. Bella and I ordered coffee and got Edward a soft serve ice cream cone. Edward happily licked the ice cream and noticed me staring at him.

"Here, you can have some. It's really yummy," Edward said and shoved the ice cream cone my way. It was all slobbery and didn't look appetizing at all but I sucked it up and took a bite. "Yummy, yeah?"

"Yup. Thank you Edward," I said and handed the ice cream cone back to him. Bella laughed and shook her head.

"Just so you know, he picks his nose," Bella said and giggled.

"Bella! TMI. I was perfectly happy until you just said that!" I said and tickled her to get back at her.

The ferry ride was 90 minutes from the Port Angeles and the dock was only two blocks away from the hotel. It was Rosalie's advice to find a place near the dock so that we could find the hotel easily and get settled in quick.

After we were escorted to our room at Inn at Laurel Point, Bella gasped. "Jasper, this place is so beautiful. The expansive glass balcony had the view of the harbor which could be seen from both the living room and the bedroom of the suite. Edward rushed to the couch in the living room and rolled around on it.

"You can sleep on that if you want to. It's a couch sleeper," I said and Edward smiled. "Would you like me to show you?" Edward nodded excitedly. I moved the coffee table and set up the couch sleeper for him.

"Can I sleep here, Mommy?"

"Yes he can, and we can sleep in the bedroom together," I whispered softly in Bella's ear while I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Ummm. Sure baby. If that's what you want to do." Bella said and blushed.

"Let's go and check out the bedroom," I said and tugged on Bella's arm. The bedroom was tastefully designed with natural colors and white bedding. It had a King size bed and the view from the bedroom was just as beautiful. Bella blushed when she saw the bed and chewed on her bottom lip.

"Do you like it?" I asked and kissed her on her neck. Edward was still playing in the living room making a fort using the cushions off the leather couch. Bella smiled and nodded. Her face and neck was crimson from her non-stop blushing.

"I've never stayed at such a beautiful resort hotel. I'm only used to staying at motels. Let's go see the bathroom," she said and pulled my arm. She probably just wanted to get the hell out of the bedroom since she noticed how red she was from her blushing. "Oooh, they have a separate glass shower booth and a jetted deep soak tub. Oh those amenities are so pretty," Bella said as she smiled and picked up the bottles of amenities on the marble bath counter.

When we went back to the living room, I laughed when I saw that Edward found the mini fridge and was now busily opening a can of chocolates. "Edward, noooo," Bella shouted. Edward turned around and looked like he didn't understand why his Mommy was shouting at him. "I'm so sorry, Jasper," Bella quickly apologized to me.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. We're on vacation. It's not a big deal. Look at his happy face."

"Jasper, those things are really expensive. I brought his snacks."

"Let him have some fun. We didn't tell him to stay out of the fridge. It's not like we go on trips like this all the time. When I was a kid I wanted to do exactly what he just did, but my parents wouldn't let me touch anything in the mini fridge. We'll just tell him that he should ask first, but this time he's not in trouble." Bella looked relieved and nodded.

"What do you have planned for us today? Edward is probably going to want to go out soon."

"I'm taking you two to the 'Miniature World'." Bella raised her brow as if she questioned if it was any good. "I swear it's going to be great. They have 80 miniature dioramas and the reviews were all great."

"Hmmm. I have a feeling you're going to love the place as much or even more than Edward," Bella said and chuckled.

**BPOV**

I really looked forward to this trip. I've never been on a trip with a boyfriend. I was too busy going to school, working, and taking care of Edward for the past few years. The only time I went on vacation was when school was out and it was a family trip with Edward, Mom, Phil, and I. I was excited and a little nervous at the same time. I had no idea what the sleeping arrangements were going to be like. Was I ready to sleep with Jasper? I was too embarrassed to ask Jasper if he booked us a room with two double beds or not. When I saw the room and that it had a couch sleeper, I felt a little more at ease having the option of sleeping with Edward, but when Jasper whispered into my ear that we could sleep in the bedroom together since Edward wanted to sleep in the living room, my stomach filled with butterflies.

It wasn't that I didn't want to sleep with Jasper. I really wanted to, but I hadn't slept with anyone since Edward passed away. When Jasper suggested that we go on this trip, I put my pride aside and called Rose. I asked her if I should maybe take something nice to sleep in for this trip. Thankfully Rose didn't laugh at my silly question. She told me she understood why I was nervous. She eased my mind suggesting that I pack something I would feel comfortable wearing, but something that I would feel pretty in. She told me that I should do that for myself and not for Jasper. She told me that this was the perfect opportunity for me to look and feel pretty and to enjoy the luxury of being pampered by Jasper.

After I got off the phone with Rose, I went online and bought a white babydoll nightie. It wasn't see-through, but it was satin with lace and came with a matching thong. I also bought a new top, jeans, and two dresses. I justified the purchase that this was a necessity to make myself feel good about myself. I rarely spent any money on myself since Edward went through his clothes so quickly that most of the money I made went to him.

I felt beautiful in my new knit dress. I felt like a woman again. Today I wasn't just a Mommy. I was with a man who cared about me and saw me as a woman and not just a Mommy.

"Mommy, are we there yet?" Edward asked and Jasper laughed.

"Five more minutes. See that building over there? That's where we're going. We need to park my truck first," Jasper answered.

Once we were parked, Jasper helped me out of the truck and he unbuckled Edward out of his seat. I was surprised when he carried Edward instead of having him walk.

"Jasper, he can walk. You'll get tired."

"He's not that heavy, Bella. I don't want us to lose him in the crowd of people. We're not in Forks anymore. I promised your Dad that I'd never take my eyes off him. I just want to be extra careful."

"You're right. Just put him down if you get tired, Okay? We'll just make sure he's always holding one of our hands." Jasper nodded.

As soon as Edward saw the dioramas, he struggled to get out of Jasper's arms, but Jasper shook his head at him. Edward pouted and looked at me with puppy eyes to make Jasper let go of him. I shook my head too and Edward huffed. Jasper just laughed and whispered something into his ear and Edward smiled really wide and nodded. I had a feeling Jasper bribed him with something so that he'd stay in his arms. Normally I'd be upset because I didn't want Edward to get into a bad habit of thinking that he'd always get something if he did what he was told, but today I was letting it go. Before I came on this trip, one of the things Rose reminded me was that I needed to be patient with Jasper, since he's just starting to learn how to act around small children, and that he was trying very hard.

Edward didn't enjoy the Space diorama as the room was a little too dark for him, but as soon as we were out of that room his eyes sparkled when he saw the Fields of Glory diorama. When I glanced over at Jasper, the expression on his face was exactly like one Edward had.

"Do the soldiers come out and attack us?" Edward asked looking scared. Jasper looked confused with Edward's question.

"He saw 'Small Soldiers' with Carlisle the other day."

"Ahh. These guys won't attack us. Don't worry. They're not like Chip Hazard and Brick Bazooka."

"Okay." Edward looked relieved.

Jasper went through each display explaining to Edward the history behind the scenes. People around them started listening to Jasper's explanation and in a few minutes he was addressing the whole crowd and not just Edward. When he was done explaining the last display, there was a round of applause directed towards Jasper. He blushed and smiled. "You're welcome," Edward said to the crowd and they all laughed. He was such a comedian sometimes.

Since we spent a lot of time at the war dioramas, we moved quickly through the railroad diorama and the lumber mill diorama. When I realized that they had a Swiss Family Robinson diorama, I felt like covering Edward's eyes and run to the next display. He had wanted a tree house ever since I read the story to him.

"Mommy, look! Is that the family tree house?"

"Family tree house?" Jasper cocked his brow.

"Yes it is, Edward. It's the Swiss Family Robinson's tree house."

"Mommy, when is grandpa making the tree house for me?"

"Grandpa is really busy. You can always use the tree house at Grandma Esme and Grandma Carlisle's house that belonged to your Daddy."

"I want my own tree house."

"I know, Edward. I'll ask Grandpa again."

"Can you make a tree house?" Edward asked Jasper.

"Ummm. Well, I've never built a tree house, but I'm sure I could with some help."

"Will you make me a tree house?"

"If it's all right with your Mommy, then I'm sure I can ask Uncle Em to help me build you a tree house. Would you like to have one in my backyard? I have a really nice tree in my yard that would be perfect."

"Mommy, please," Edward wrapped himself around my leg and begged.

"Are you sure it's all right with you, Jasper?"

"I wouldn't have offered. I'm sure Em would be more than happy to help. I'll give him a call when we're home."

"Can we go home now?" Edward asked and Jasper laughed.

"Sorry, Edward. We're staying here tonight, but we'll be home tomorrow. I can call Uncle Em later for you."

"Okay." Edward said and smiled and we moved on to the next display. When we got to the Santa diorama, Edward couldn't contain his excitement when he saw Santa and Mrs. Claus and the toy factory.

"Mommy, look! It's Santa. Do you think that's my truck?" Edward asked pointing to the toys Santa's little helpers were making.

"Is that what you're going to ask Santa for Christmas?" Jasper asked. Edward nodded repeatedly.

"I'm sure it's your truck," I said and smiled at Edward.

"When's Christmas?" Edward asked and Jasper chuckled.

"Not for a while yet. You can always ride in my truck until Santa finishes making your truck." Jasper said to Edward while Edward raised his arms up asking Jasper to carry him again so that he could have a better view of the dioramas.

While we went through the Circus diorama Edward's tummy growled. "I'm hungry," Edward said to Jasper.

"All right, big guy, we should go grab something to eat. What would you like to eat? Would you like to eat some fish and chips?"

"Potato chips?" Edward asked.

"French fries."

"Okay. I like French fries," Edward said and gave Jasper a kiss on his cheek. I was surprised with Edward's affection towards Jasper and Jasper looked even more surprised than me, but he also looked extremely happy. It seemed like Edward really bonded with Jasper, but I was pretty sure a lot had to do with Jasper promising Edward that he'd build him a tree house.

We went to Wharf Street and got some fish and chips at Red Fish Blue Fish by the pier. We sat on the benches outside and ate while we watched the seaplanes land and take off.

"Can we call Uncle Em?" Edward asked Jasper.

"Oh, you want to call him now? I guess we could do that. Just a second, Edward," Jasper said and pulled out his phone.

"Hey Em…Calm down, nothing is wrong. I know it's odd that I'm calling from Victoria. I promise nothing is wrong between Bella and I. Edward wanted me to call you… Well he wants a tree house…" Jasper got interrupted by Edward pulling on his arm and asking Jasper to hand the phone over to him. Jasper chuckled and passed the phone over to Edward.

"Uncle Em. Are you really strong? …Uh-huh…Can you make a tree house? ... I need a tree house… Okay. Can you put a swing on it? I like swings. Thank you," Edward smiled and handed the phone back to Jasper.

"So what's happening Em? Oh, hi Rose. Sorry, I didn't know he handed the phone over to you….Wow! Thanks. I really appreciate it. See you guys tomorrow. Just don't get started without me and Edward," Jasper laughed and ended the call.

"What's going on?" I asked Jasper.

"Both Emmett and Rose loved the idea of building a tree house, so they're leaving now to go buy supplies. They sounded so excited I had to tell them not to get started without us. It's Edward's tree house so he should participate on the designing."

"It's just a tree house for a child."

"It's not just a tree house for Edward. It's going to become a place where he can think, build friendships, and make dreams come true. It has to be the perfect tree house." I just smiled and nodded. I chalked it up to some things I would never understand. I still couldn't understand what the big deal was. Living in Forks surrounded by all those trees made the whole town look like a tree house anyway, so I didn't see point of having a tree house. A little tent in the yard probably served a similar purpose in my opinion.

"Should we go back to the hotel and rest until dinner or would you like to go somewhere?" Jasper asked.

"I think Edward could use a nap, but if you have something planned we could do that."

"Let's just go back to the hotel and rest a little. If he's not tired we could stroll around the premise. They have a nice Japanese garden with a beautiful fall and a beautiful pond." I smiled and nodded at Jasper.

As soon as we were back in our room, we pulled out the couch sleeper, and the three of us lay down together. Jasper flipped through the movie options and found "Night at the Museum," in the list. We purchased the movie and let it run. Edward really got into the movie, but after a little while sleep caught up to him.

"Would you like to go and sit out on the balcony?" I asked Jasper.

"Sounds good. You go ahead and make yourself comfortable out there. I'll make some coffee and take it out there," Jasper said and helped me up.

I stretched my legs out in the deck chair out in the balcony and watched the boats and seaplanes. The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere was really serene and relaxing. I hadn't felt this calm and relaxed in a long time. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze and the warm sun shine on my face.

**JPOV**

I tried to be as gentle as I could when I covered Bella with the throw I brought out to the balcony, but failed miserably. Bella jerked awake and seemed a little disoriented at first.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." I said and brushed my thumb across her cheek.

"I must have dozed off. It's so relaxing here. I haven't had this kind of luxury in a real long time."

"Well, that's what this trip is for. To relax and get away from the craziness," I said and cradled her face and kissed her on her lips. "I love you, Bella. Thank you for staying with me and not giving up on us."

"I love you too, Jasper."

**

* * *

**

**A/N**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. They'll still be in Victoria in the next chapter. Their night together in Victoria is coming up next. Not quite sure how far I want their relationship to go yet. I have it all set up so that I have options. Thanks for reading.

Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts.

Links to the Terrace Suite, restaurant, and Miniature World is on my profile Under Talk of the Town Chapter 9.


	10. Chapter 10 I want to make love to you

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. **

I only own the plot of this story.

I first would like to apologize for taking such a long break from this story and to thank all of you wonderful readers who after all this time still kept me on your Favorites and Alert.

Most of you probably forgot what happened in the previous chapters so here is a quick summary:

Edward Cullen dies from a car crash before he marries Bella. Bella is pregnant with Edward's child and goes to live with her Mom to have her baby. After she hears that Charlie is ill from diabetes, she returns to live with him with her son, Edward.

She meets Jasper at the supermarket and their romance starts. Jasper is recently divorced from Alice. After hearing that Jasper was dating another woman, Alice returns and wreaks havoc. Emmett's wife, Rose, pulls strings and successfully drives Alice out of Forks.

The relationship between Bella and Jasper progress and they are now in Victoria with Edward for a little vacation. They've checked into the hotel, spent some time at miniature world and are now at the hotel.

**Chapter 10 I want to make love to you**

**JPOV**

I was lost in the moment until I realized we were all over each other on the balcony. I carried Bella in my arms to the bedroom and stopped kissing her when I sat on the bed with her in my lap. The whimper Bella gave when I stopped kissing her and the lust in her eyes was answer enough for me that I could keep going. I slid my hand up her dress

and slid my hand over her thighs. I could feel her shaking from nervousness.

"Relax, darlin'. It's just you and me," I whispered into her ear and kissed her neck. Bella blushed and nodded.

"I want to make love to you but if you're not ready, I can wait. There's no need to rush," I said looking into her eyes.

"Make love to me, Jasper," she whispered to me.

I pulled Bella's dress over her head and thought I would lose my sanity when I saw her in the white laced bra and matching thong. She looked so innocent and naughty at the same time. It drove me insane. It took every inch of me to hold myself from ravaging her.

"You're so beautiful," I whispered into her ear while I unstrapped her bra. Once she was only in her thong I quickly took my clothes off and was only in my boxer briefs now.

I pulled the covers down and lay her down on the bed. I spread her legs and kneeled between them. Bella crossed her arms over her breasts blushing. I took that as a sign that she wasn't comfortable exposing herself in front of me yet, so I quickly pulled the sheets over us. I kicked the boxer briefs off my legs and was now naked and the only piece of clothing left on Bella was the sexy white laced thong on. Instead of just pulling it off her, I bit onto the side of her panty and gently inched it down with my teeth causing Bella to giggle.

She seemed a lot more relaxed now that we were under the sheets. There was no reason for her to be embarrassed or shy since she had a gorgeous body, but I didn't want to push her to doing anything that made her uncomfortable so I settled on keeping us covered.

Her breathing picked up once she was fully naked and before she had the chance to feel nervous again, I started kissing her from her ankle slowly moving up to her knee and up her inner thigh. Inch by inch I worshipped her long, slender, sexy legs. She was now running her fingers through my hair and it just felt so good. Her touch was so delicate and loving. It helped me calm down to take my time with her.

After I kissed both her legs, I started kissing her stomach and moved upwards to her breasts. They were so perky, firm, and full. I could easily spend hours worshiping her breasts. After I thoroughly squeezed, licked, sucked, and softly bit her nipples, I moved my hand down to her pussy. I didn't realize she was so turned on until I felt her dripping onto my fingers. I started to run my fingers up and down her folds gently. I worked my fingers to her clit. Her moans went straight to my cock making me incredibly hard. I shifted myself further down towards the foot of the bed so that I could spend some time worshiping her gorgeous pussy. When I ran my tongue up her folds Bella whimpered and reached down to my head and tried to stop me.

"Please. Let me have you. All of you," I said and she relaxed and let go of my head.

I licked, sucked, and rolled my tongue over her clit while I slid my fingers into her increasing the speed. She was clutching the sheets harder and arching her back, calling out my name.

"Do you like that? Do you want more?" I teased.

"Please. I want you, Jasper. I want you inside me." Bella writhed as I started pumping my fingers faster and harder into her.

"Is this what you want?" I said as I grabbed Bella's hand and rested it on my cock.

"Yes. I want your hard cock," Bella said as she grabbed my cock and started pumping it with her fingers. All her shyness was gone and there was no inch of hesitancy in her voice. I hitched her legs up my shoulders and pushed into her hard.

"Unnnng. I want more, Jasper. Give it to me. Harder."

Oooooh. I very much enjoyed this side of Bella. Just a little while ago she was acting all shy trying to hide her body from me and now she was writhing and asking me to fuck her harder. I pumped faster and harder into her and the headboard was bumping into the wall. I started to worry that it might wake Edward up and didn't want him cock blocking us so I increased the speed faster so that we could finish without interruption.

"How's this for harder?" I said as I pumped into her with everything I had. She was dripping and the squishy sounds of my cock sliding into her hot, wet, pussy was making me lose control. "I can't hold any longer, come with me, baby," I said as I pumped into her faster and harder while adding my fingers to rub her clit.

"Oh God. Unnnng that feels so good. I'm gonna come," Bella said in her throes of passion

as she squeezed the sheets and her legs started to shake. I felt her inner walls squeeze and that was my undoing. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight as we both reached climax.

Until I made love to Bella I didn't realize how much I was missing out. Everything about her was perfect. I didn't want this moment to end and this was not my euphoria talking. I was so happy I was grinning like a fool. After I caught my breath I kissed Bella on her forehead. She snuggled her head into my chest and sighed.

"Was that a good sigh or a bad sigh."

"Very very good sigh," she said tilting her head as she looked into my eyes.

"I wish we could stay like this forever but we have a little boy in the other room sleeping and if we don't get out of this bed and get dressed, you have a lot of explaining to do that he's probably not ready for," I said chuckling. "I'll go and check on him while you pop in the shower. Does that sound good?"

"Thanks. You're such a sweet heart," Bella said as she grabbed my T shirt that was tossed on the bed when I took it off earlier and pulled it over her head.

"It looks better on you than me," I said winking at her. Bella gave me a peck on my lips and headed to the bathroom while I got dressed and dug into my bag to find another T shirt to wear. I didn't plan to shower so that I could smell Bella on me a little while longer. I sounded like a sick bastard but I didn't care.

When I checked on Edward, he was still sleeping peacefully with a big smile on his face. I wondered what he was dreaming about. I hoped I had something to do with that smile on his face. Since Edward was still asleep after Bella came out of the shower we decided to just cuddle outside on the balcony for a little while longer.

If felt good to just hold Bella and watch the ocean from the balcony. She was so soft and warm. I didn't want to let go of her but unfortunately Edward woke up from his nap and started banging on the sliding doors as it was too heavy for him to open them. He started crying so I rushed to the door and tried to take his hand but he brushed it away and ran straight into Bella's arm.

"What's wrong, Edward? Why are you crying?" Bella asked rubbing soothing circles on his back to calm him down.

"I want to go home," Edward said sniffling.

"Did you get scared from waking up alone?" Bella asked and Edward nodded into her chest.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't think you'd wake up so soon. I know you were scared but what you just did to Jasper wasn't nice. He opened the door for you. When someone does something nice for you, what are you supposed to say?" Bella asked gently.

"Thank you?"

"Right. So go say 'thank you' to Jasper and apologize for being rude to him," Bella said trying to peel him off her but he clutched onto her even tighter causing Bella to sigh. I smiled and mouthed "don't worry," as Edward not only was scared waking up in a hotel room but was also probably exhausted so he wasn't his usual self.

I rubbed my stomach to gesture to her to see if they were ready to go grab something to eat in hopes that Edward's mood would improve if we went outside. Bella nodded and got up carrying Edward back into the room.

"I'm just gonna go and get him cleaned up," she said kissing Edward's head as she headed to the bathroom.

I wanted to take them somewhere nice but decided to suggest going to McDonald's so Edward could play outside and get a little toy with his meal. While they were in the bathroom I made a quick call to the front desk to get directions to the nearest McD's. The bathroom door opened and Edward came running towards me and clung onto my legs.

"I'm sorry, Jasper," he said and smiled shyly.

"It's okay, big guy," I said and tickled him. Edward giggled and looked like he was in a better mood. "Would you like to go to McDonald's for dinner?"

"Yea!" He shouted bouncing up and down. He ran back to the bathroom and started banging on the door shouting "Mommy, Mommy, we're going to McDonald's!" excitedly.

Bella stepped out of the bathroom and looked at me quizzically? "Really? McDonald's? Jasper, I don't want you to sacrifice the chance to eat something nice just to appease Edward."

"McD's is fine. It used to be my comfort food when I was in college," I said chuckling. "I think it'll be better we went somewhere that had food Edward is familiar with since he's a bit cranky and tired," I explained to Bella.

"Thank you, Jasper. It means a lot to me that you care so much about Edward," Bella leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my waist. I wanted to stay that way for a little while longer but Edward shook my pant leg begging to leave for McD's.

"All right. Let's go," I said letting go of Bella laughing.

The ride over to McD's didn't take us long. I told Bella I'll grab the food while she watched Edward at the Play Place and Edward's eyes twinkled but Bella shook her head.

"We have a rule that he has to finish his meal before he gets to play," Bella said and Edward looked at me like he was begging me to convince Bella to reconsider.

"Sorry Edward," I said feeling guilty I brought the subject up not knowing he wasn't allowed to play before he ate. Bella must have noticed the change in my mood as she wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned her head onto my shoulder.

"It's okay. You didn't know. It's not like we can sit down and go through the rules I have for Edward. I came up with this rule after I made the mistake of letting him play before we ate. It took me forever to pull him away from the slides," Bella said laughing.

I went to get the food while Bella went to find a table for us with Edward. As soon as I placed the food on the table Edward grabbed his hamburger and started to wolf down his food. Bella chuckled shaking her head.

"He does this every time. If only he ate like this all the time it would make my life so much easier," Bella said and started wolfing down her food just like Edward causing me to laugh.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Bella said scowling.

"Well you're wolfing down the food just like Edward."

"That's because I have to finish my food when Edward is done with his. Otherwise we'd have to deal with his nagging until we're done."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that. You know what, take your time. I can go and watch him while he plays."

"It's okay. You've already done enough for us. I'm used to this."

"Maybe I want to play too?" I said winking.

"You're too big," Edward commented taking me seriously.

"Edward, Jasper was only joking."

"Was I?" I said to Bella chuckling.

As soon as we finished eating we went out to the play area and Edward ran around excitedly. Once he climbed up the slide he squealed sliding down. It made me happy to see his mood improving.

I felt Bella's eyes on me. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You're amazing. We're so lucky to have you in our lives," Bella said leaning into me.

"I don't know about the amazing part but I try. I want you two to be happy."

"And we are." Bella placed her hand on my cheek and brushed her lips on mine. I tried to deepen the kiss but Bella stopped pulling away from me.

"We need to mind the kids. We can continue where we left off back at the hotel," Bella said giving a peck on my cheek.

It took Bella almost a half hour for her to pull Edward off the swings so that we could head back to the hotel. It turned out to be great for us as Edward was immediately out cold as soon as we buckled him into his car seat. I carried Edward into the hotel and Bella changed him into his jammies immediately after we got into the room. Edward was so wiped out that he didn't even stir.

"Does he wake up in the middle of the night?"

"He usually doesn't but he'll probably wake up to use the bathroom since he fell asleep in the car. I was a little worried he might wet the bed so he's wearing pull-ups tonight. We'll know if he wakes up. I'm darn sure he'll cry when he realizes he's not home in his own bed."

"Well if that's the case we should make the best of the time we have to ourselves," I said pulling her into my arms.

"How about we order some wine and watch a movie?"

"Sounds good to me. Go ahead and look through the menu. I'll go and run you a bath," I said winking at her. Bella nodded blushing.

Why was she blushing? Did she think I wanted to bathe with her? It was a bit nippy outside and we were out the whole time Edward was playing so I only meant for her to soak in the tub so she could warm up although I definitely wouldn't decline if she wanted asked. I brought candles and bath bubbles as Rose suggested and turned off the lights. I changed into a T-shirt and sweat pants while I waited for the tub to fill. I escorted her to the bathroom as soon as the bath was ready.

"Wow, you did all this for me? Mmmm it smells so good in here," Bella said smiling. As I was about to leave the bathroom she grabbed my hand and stopped me. She chewed on her lips and looked at me through her lashes shyly. "Ummm. I'm never done this but ummm would you like to take a bath with me?" Bella asked and looked down at her feet blushing before I could answer her.

"I'd love to only if you're comfortable with it," I said trying to stay calm so that she wouldn't notice how excited I truly was.

"Ummmm. I'm a little nervous. I've only seen it done in movies but I'd like to try," Bella said playing with her hands.

"I'll just turn around so that my back is facing you. You can slip into the tub. When you're ready call me and I'll join you," I said kissing her cheek. It would've been awesome if I could've undressed her but she looked incredibly nervous and I didn't want her stressed when the whole point of this trip was for her to have a great time.

"You can turn around now," Bella said softly like it was almost a whisper.

I started stripping while Bella's eyes were glued onto me. "Do you like what you see?" I teased. Bella gasped when she realized she was ogling me. She immediately shut her eyes really tight and turned crimson.

"Hey hey. Don't be embarrassed. I've got nothing to hide. This is all yours," I said and started singing Nelly's 'It's Hot in Herre' while I took my clothes off.

_I said _

_It's gettin' hot in herre_

_(So hot)_

_So take off all your clothes _

_I am gettin' so hot, I wanna take my clothes off _

_(Uh, uh, uh, uh, oh) _

_It's gettin' hot in herre _

_(So hot)_

Bella covered her face as I stripped and bumped and grinded my hips as I moved towards her. She just laughed and wouldn't take her hands off her face. I got in the tub after finished taking her clothes of and kept singing as I slid into the tub behind her. She was laughing and splashing water at me.

Mission accomplished. Nervous Bella was out the door and Naughty Bella was out to play. I wrapped my arms around her placed my chin on her shoulder and held her tight.

"Ummmm. I had a great time today."

"I'm happy to hear that. I aim to please," I said as I started massaging her neck and her shoulders.

"Mmmmm. That feels sooooo good."

"Just relax and let me work my magic."

After I was done with her shoulders I slipped my hands to her breasts and gently squeezed her breasts working my fingers around her nipples. I pinched and rolled them and while kissing her neck. I heard her moan and moved one of my hands to her pussy and played with her clit while my other hand teased her nipples. I blew into her ear softly and Bella melted in my arms.

I helped her out of the tub and dried myself and her off and carried her to the bed. We made love again and she fell asleep in my arms.

**A/N **

How was that for a comeback chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts. Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update this story. I'll do my best to keep updating this story in a timely manner. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11 Surprise!

**Editing to Add: March 13th**

**Due to our country in a state of emergency from the earthquake, the Tsunami, and fear from nuclear meltdown, **

**I'll be taking a month or maybe longer off to to deal with all that is happening in our country. **

**I'd like to thank all the people worldwide for the prayers and support you're all giving us. **

**I live in Tokyo so the damage was nothing compared to what is happening in the northern parts of Japan but **

**aftershocks are still continuing and strong, there is power outage, limited transportation, limited phone service, **

**and food and water is starting to lack ****but as a nation we will stay strong and live through this crisis **

**and rebuild our country again. **

**Thank you.**

**Chihuahuamama**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. **

I only own the plot of this story.

The lyrics to the breakfast song that Edward sings belong to me!

**Chapter 11 Surprise! **

**JPOV**

I awoke to the bed shaking. Was it an earthquake? I forced my eyes open, looked around, and was startled to see a pair of emerald green eyes staring at me. I blinked several times to make sure I was really seeing what was in front of me. The bed was still shaking or so I thought until I realized that it was my arm that was being shaken. Not by an earthquake but by Edward.

"Jasper, I'm hungry," Edward whispered to me.

"Why are you whispering?" I asked Edward in a whisper humoring him.

"Mommy said I have to whisper when I want to wake Grandpa up because he might die from hardtack." I know he meant heart attack but I chuckled to the image of Chief Swan snacking on those darn hardtacks and losing his teeth out on his boat while he fished.

I glanced at the clock radio and realized it was only 3 a.m. Is this what Bella deals with on a daily basis? Does he always wake up at this ungodly hour?

"Well, I'm not your grandpa so you don't need to whisper but, Edward, it's still a little too early for breakfast. Do you think you can sleep for a few more hours?"

"I don't know," he contemplated pouting.

"Do you think you can sleep a little more if you climbed in bed between your mommy and me?" His eyes twinkled and the corner of his lips turned up into a full smile as he nodded.

I lifted him onto the bed and he crawled between Bella and me. He inched closer to me and snuggled up to me draping his little arm over my side. He was so tiny. In less than a minute his breathing steadied and he was asleep. I ran my fingers through his hair and he sighed just like the way his mother did. I couldn't really go back to sleep. I was nervous I might roll over Edward in my sleep and suffocate him.

I tried to think of ways I could go back to sleep without killing Edward. When he rolled over and was halfway on top of me I cradled him and sometime while I was trying to think of ways to safely go back to sleep without harming Edward, I fell asleep.

I awoke to Edward singing some kind of strange breakfast song to the tunes of My Bonnie lies over the ocean.

_I'm hungry and I want some breakfast _

_Will you get up and make some for me?_

_Some pancakes, some eggs, and some bacon_

_A glass of milk would also be nice _

_Wake up, Wake up, _

_Oh, please feed poor Edward some food some food_

_Wake up, Wake up,_

_His mommy will need some food too_

I couldn't stop laughing at how silly the lyrics were. I realized it must've been a song Bella made up and taught Edward to sing to his grandma while they lived in Phoenix so that she could sleep in. I wasn't sure if he tried waking Bella first or if he came to wake me up first. I had a feeling he didn't even try bothering waking Bella as she was still sleeping despite the silly song Edward was still singing over and over again. My laughing at the song must've encouraged him since he started singing louder and louder.

"All right big guy, time to hit the shower," I said picking Edward up.

He was whining that he didn't want to shower but I told him to man up and just keep his eyes shut. He pouted but didn't argue with me. He covered his eyes with his hands while I washed his hair and his body. He stood under the shower while I showered quicker than I normally did and we were out of the shower in no time.

I dried him off and wrapped him in the bath towel and told him to wait for me in the living room. I quickly got dressed and found him some clothes from Bella's luggage and went to dress him. After I dressed him I wrote a little note for Bella so that she wouldn't worry where we were.

**BPOV**

The sun was shining brightly into the room when I woke up. It was so peaceful and quiet. I turned my head and noticed that the other side of my bed was empty. Where did Jasper go? I glanced at the radio clock and it said 8 a.m.

"Jasper? Jasper?" I called out and there was no answer. "Edward? Edward?" Again there was no answer either. I panicked and sat up on the bed. I was relieved when I found a note on Jasper's pillow.

_Thank you for the lovely performance by Edward this morning. _

_His breakfast song was amazing. _

_You are very creative and sneaky. *chuckle*_

_Enjoy a nice relaxing shower and order some room service for yourself. _

_I'll try to keep him occupied until 10 a.m. _

_In return I'd like a repeat performance of last night in the near future._

_Jasper_

I flung my head back and laughed clapping. I didn't think Edward remembered the breakfast song anymore as I've never heard him sing to dad. Dad was a terrible cook so I guess even Edward didn't dare ask Dad to make him breakfast.

I sent a text to Jasper thanking for a wonderful night and that I appreciated his sweet gesture of taking Edward to breakfast so that I could have some time to myself. I got out of bed and started running a bath. The thought of having the luxury to soak in the tub from morning was heavenly. How did I get so lucky?

I relaxed and unwound in the tub. I was a little sore from our love making sessions last night. I even noticed a few faint love bites on my breasts and inner thighs. I grinned like an idiot reveling over the memories of how sweet Jasper was last night. I hate to compare him to Edward's father, but Edward and I were just teenagers without any experience so what I had with Edward was nothing in comparison to how Jasper made love to me.

My phone buzzed and saw that I received a text message from Rose.

_How did last night go? Did you wear the baby doll you purchased? or did you get stuck sleeping with Edward? I'm dying here. Call me!_

I laughed at Rose's message and called her while I soaked in the tub.

"Hey, Rose. You're up already?"

"Yeah. Baby pushes on my pee bag. You remember how it was when you were pregnant don't you?"

"Don't remind me. I had to get up to pee so many times during the night."

"Anyway Chica, spill."

"About what?"

"Don't go cute on me. Did you wear the baby doll?"

"Unfortunately no," I sighed. I did want to show the baby doll off to Jasper but I never got the chance.

"Damn! I was really excited to find out what kind of lover Jasper was. That sucks!"

"I didn't say nothing happened. I just never got the chance to wear the baby doll."

"What?" Rose squealed. "Emmett! They did the deed!"

"Rose! Why did you tell Emmett? Now Jasper is going to think I'm some stupid kid who can't keep her mouth shut."

"I'm sure Jasper wouldn't mind you using your mouth on him," Rose said chuckling.

"Rose! Get your mind out of the gutter! Sheesh!"

"I'm just teasing. What time are you coming back?"

"Jasper took Edward to breakfast. I'm relaxing in the tub. He's gonna keep Edward busy until 10 a.m. I guess we'll check out after that."

"Awww I knew it! He's such a sweetheart. He's going to make a wonderful husband and dad to you and Edward."

"Grrr."

"What? It's true. He may not be ready yet since he probably has a lot to learn about parenting but I have no doubt in my mind that he's going to be a wonderful husband and father. Well I won't waste your precious time. Have fun bathing and I'll see you guys later. Emmett is soooo excited about the tree house."

"Please thank Emmett for me for helping Jasper build the tree house."

"I'm sure the pleasure is all his. You're doing him a favor. He gets to play with his tools without getting in trouble from me. Have a safe trip back. See ya,"

"Thanks Rose. See ya!"

I got out of the tub and pulled the robe on myself. I called room service and ordered some coffee and eggs benny. I went to the balcony and sat down and immediately spotted Jasper and Edward running around in the garden. I chuckled watching Jasper struggle to catch up with Edward. I leaned on the fence and waved to try to catch their attention. I wondered if it was a mother-son connection as Edward instantly noticed me. He bounced up and down waving both his arms at me. I chuckled when I saw Jasper do the same once he realized who Edward was waving at.

Room service knocked and I asked them to place the tray on the coffee table. After room service left, I carried the tray out to the balcony and noticed that Jasper and Edward were gone. It was 9:30 so I still had half an hour to enjoy my freedom. I felt like a celebrity having breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean in a bathrobe. My life had done a 180 since I came back to Forks. I was no longer alone. I now had a wonderful boyfriend, and two friends who I could trust and didn't ask anything from me except companionship. They were great to Edward and he seemed to have a little boy's crush on Rosalie.

I got dressed and started packing. Jasper was already packed but I still had to pick up all of Edward's toys he tossed around in the living room. When I was almost done with the packing Edward and Jasper returned with several bags of souvenir.

"This is for Auntie Rosie," Edward said and showed me the T shirt that he picked for Rosalie. I laughed when I saw that the hot pink baby T he got for her said "Puck Bunny."

"Did you get something for Uncle Emmett?"

"Here," Edward said shoving me an ice hockey jersey looking uninterested.

"He lost interest after he found what he wanted for Rose," Jasper said laughing.

"Jasper got me this!" Edward proudly showed me a set of toy hockey sticks with a puck made out of sponge. I grimaced at the thought of Edward playing in the house and the puck flying in the air and hitting me straight in the eye.

"I know what's running through your head. Don't worry, Bella. I told him he needs to leave them at my place."

"Thank God!"

We quickly gathered our luggage and headed down to the front desk to check out. Jasper carried all our bags and Edward and I waited for him at his truck while he went and paid for the room. It was a quick drive to the ferry and before we knew it, we were on our way back to Port Angeles.

Jasper told me that he purposely made Edward run around after breakfast so that he'd tire out and sleep through the ferry ride. Thankfully due to Jasper's quick thinking we got to have some alone time without needing to look after Edward. He slept peacefully cradled in Jasper's arms.

I guess I was tired as I dozed off on the ferry too and woke to Jasper telling me that we were now back in Port Angeles. Unfortunately Edward woke up and we had to deal with him babbling about all the cool stuff he saw at the souvenir store by the hotel and how excited he was to play hockey with Jasper and Emmett.

When we got to Jasper's driveway, we noticed not only Emmett's jeep but also another car there.

"Jasper? Were you planning on having a guest today?"

"Not that I know of," Jasper answered looking confused.

Right as we approached the door flung open and I froze to my mom shouting "surprise" at us with Rosalie and Emmett grinning behind her.

My jaw dropped and my mind went blank. It took me a while to snap out of it. Edward squealed and ran into her arms. "Grandma! Grandma!"

"What?...Why?...How?..." I couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"I called your father and he told me that you were on a trip with your boyfriend and was returning in the afternoon. He gave me Rosalie's number and she gave me this address."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?"

"I only decided to come yesterday. I was on the waiting list for the flight so I didn't know until I was waiting at the airport if I'd be able to fly today. Do I need a reason to see my grandson and my daughter?" Mom explained grinning like a fool while she checked Jasper out. "So, Rosalie tells me that you're the sexy history teacher sleeping with my daughter," she said to Jasper chuckling.

Jasper looked like a deer in headlights. "She's just joking. Don't mind her.," I said clearly irritated. Mom was spontaneous and I was used to it while we lived with her but now that I wasn't she took me by surprise. Emmett guffawed and seemed to be having the time of his life watching Jasper frozen in shock.

"I'm only teasing you. Hello Jasper. I'm Renee, Bella's mom and this little guy's grandma," she said holding her hand out.

Jasper still seemed to be shocked but he took her hand and kept shaking it until mom stopped him with her other hand laughing.

"You know this isn't my house but it seems like the owner of this house isn't quite there in his head right now so let's sit down and get comfortable in the living room," Rosalie said leading us into the living room.

"Edward, I heard that Emmett and Jasper is going to build you a tree house here. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Yeah. They're my superhero."

"Cool. What am I? Superman? Batman?" Emmett asked excitedly.

Edward shook his head and said "Ben."

"Ben? Who's Ben?" The rat in that freakin' horror movie?" Emmett held his cheeks with his hands like the figure in 'The Scream' in Edvard Munch's painting. Rosalie guffawed pointing at Emmett.

"I think he means Ben from Fantastic Four. You know, The Thing? The guy who looks like a pile of rocks?"

"Oh. The Thing. That's cool then. Who's Jasper ?" Emmett asked Edward.

"Cyclops," Edward said and Emmett furrowed his brows.

"What? Why does Jasper get to be the cool looking superhero? What's with your son and his attachment to the characters from Marvel Comics anyway?"

"Grandpa has some old comic books in the storage."

"Oh I remember those. Your father loved comic books when he was young."

"Hmmm. Interesting. Did Chief Swan join the police force to become a real life super hero?" Emmett commented laughing.

"Something like that," mom replied laughing.

"Which super heroine is your Mommy?" Rosalie asked Edward,

"Mommy."

"Yes. Your mommy. Which super heroine is she?"

"She's a Mommy." Edward repeated looking a little irritated that he had to repeat what he said..

"A Mommy?" Rose asked tilting her head not quite understanding what Edward was trying to say until a light bulb went off in her head. "Ohhhhh. A Mommy! Well done kiddo. You are absolutely right. A Mommy is definitely a super heroine. Nothing can beat that!" Rose said and gave Edward a kiss on his cheek.

Jasper quietly sat beside me smiling as he listened to Emmett begging Edward to make him a different superhero than 'The Thing'. "You all right?" I whispered into his ear.

"Well she kind of took me by surprise," Jasper replied chuckling. "I would've liked to be prepared when it was time to meet your mom."

"You and me both, but that's who my mom is. I just wished I had some kind of warning too," I commented sighing.

"Well how about lunch? I think the hotdogs and hamburgers should be done by now," Rose said pointing towards the grill in the yard. "Help me set up the table?" Rose said to me winking. I knew this was her way of getting me alone with her so that she could grill me with questions about the details from last night. She dragged me to the kitchen with mom following right behind me. I was soooo not going to discuss my love life in front of my mom.

"Mom, where are you staying at?"

"With you and Edward at Charlie's. Where else would I be staying?"

"Mom! I think that's just kind of weird. Can't you just stay at a motel? Dad's house doesn't even have a guestroom."

"I've already cleared it with Charlie. He said he can sleep on the couch and I could take his bedroom," Mom answered smiling as if there was nothing wrong with that sleeping arrangement..

While Rose dragged me to their bedroom after we finished eating, I saw mom settling beside Jasper smirking.

**JPOV**

Holy Mary mother of God. I was soooo gonna be in trouble. Chief Swan knew enough about me before I met Bella so I wasn't really nervous around him but Bella's mom was a totally different ball game. Just looking at her expression I could tell she had millions of questions she wanted to ask me.

As soon as Rose dragged Bella away, Renee settled comfortably beside me and cut to the chase. "What are your intentions regarding my daughter and grandson? Do you plan to ask them to move in with you? Do you plan to marry her?" Renee asked right as Emmett and I were taking a sip out of our soda causing a spit take. Renee got up and grabbed us some towels laughing.

"Errrr. We haven't really discussed anything that far and I'm not sure if we're really there yet in the stage of our relationship," I answered her honestly. It had crossed my mind during this trip how great it would be to wake up beside Bella but that was my wishful thinking and I seriously didn't think Bella or I was ready for that big step yet. Emmett was clearly having fun watching me squirm in my seat with Renee's questions.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that sometimes you have to push Bella a little. She's just like her father. They don't like change so unless you do something about it nothing will change. Edward seems to be really attached to you. He needs a father. The longer you keep things the way it is between you and Bella, Edward will treat you as a friend and it'll only get harder for him to think of you as his father when you decide to marry Bella. I'm not trying to rush you or make you do something you don't want to do but you're dating a single mother with a child. You need to start thinking about the future," Renee said squeezing my shoulder. "Well I'm going to go out to the yard and play with my grandson," Renee said and got up from the couch.

**BPOV**

Once Rosalie dragged me to her bedroom, I expected her to start grilling me about last night, but instead she sighed and looked like there was something on her chest she wanted to get off.

"What's wrong Rose?"

"You know, I hate to get in the middle of something that isn't my business but I consider you as family and so I'm just going to tell you. I overheard your mom on the phone before you guys got back. I think she was talking to her lawyer. Bella, do you know if there is something going on between your step dad and your mother? I overheard your mom call your step dad a lying cheat on the phone. From the discussion she had with the lawyer the only conclusion I can come up with is that she's thinking of divorcing him."

"What? So that's why she's here? OH MY GOD, I hope she's not planning to trick dad into letting her move back in," I blurted out shocked from Rose's revelation.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I can't have her do that to dad. She'll never fit in Forks. She left because Forks just wasn't enough for her. Now that she doesn't have anyone she wants to get back together with dad? OH MY GOD! Unbelievable!"

"Bella. Shhhhh. Keep your voice down. You don't know what your mom's intentions are yet. You're just guessing. Just keep your eyes and ears open. She could really just be here to visit you two."

I held my face in my hands and wanted to scream. Things were perfect between dad, Edward, Jasper and me. I didn't want mom bursting our happy bubble.

**A/N**

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I tried to update as quick as I could since I took so long last time. Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts!


	12. Chapter 12 Author's note from Japan

**Author's note: March 13th**

**Due to our country in a state of emergency from the earthquake, the Tsunami, and fear from nuclear meltdown,**

**I'll be taking a month or maybe longer off to to deal with all that is happening in our country.**

**I'd like to thank all the people worldwide for the prayers and support you're all giving us.**

**I live in Tokyo so the damage was nothing compared to what is happening in the northern parts of Japan but**

**aftershocks are still continuing and strong, there is power outage, limited transportation, limited phone service,**

**and food and water is starting to lack but as a nation we will stay strong and live through this crisis**

**and rebuild our country again.**

**Thank you.**

**Chihuahuamama**


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